Fanfiction - Volume 14: The City-States Alliance
by Sasugasm
Summary: The Sorcerer Kingdom turns his sight to the Karnassus City-States Alliance, a nation located east of the Baharuth Empire. An unfortunate Godkin will cross Ainz's path during the conquest, and the encounter will forever change his destiny.
1. Chapter 1 Part 1

**[Fanfiction] Volume 14: The City-State**

* * *

 **Disclaimer**

I do not, in any case, own Overlord novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama. I am merely writing a fanfiction of his work and present it to you as such. This is not part of the novels.

 **About the story**

This fanfiction is supposed to take place after the Holy Kingdom Arc (Vol. 12 & 13) and relate a fan story of the conquest of the Karnassus City-States Alliance. Most of it will be told from the perspective of the humans (and the main protagonist), but there will be scenes from the standpoint of Ainz and his servants to give a better understanding of the plot. Please understand this choice while you read and may you enjoy it.

I planned the fanfiction as a volume (meaning 8 to 11 chapters depending on how I will cut them), and the story is expected to end. However, I take a lot of times to complete a chapter, and it may end up in having a significant delay between the release of the next one. Forgive me in advance for the trouble. I try to stay true to your expectation, but I can't promise anything.

To finish with this boring stuff, I want to say that the real heroes are you — the readers — and that you deserve the best out of us — the writers. I merely hope that you will find _my best_ to be entertaining enough.

That said : Have fun & stay awesome !

* * *

 _Many thanks to **nobetteridea** , for proofreading and helping me improve this chapter._

 **Chapter 1 — Falling legends**

 **Part 1 -** **Border of the Karnassus City-State Alliance**

"Ainz-sama."

A crackling voice resounded — like the threatening noise of a wasp.

『Is that you, Cocytus ?』

"Yes. I have a report to deliver. Gargantua is in position."

Ainz suddenly panicked under his mask. What would he do if something went wrong ? It was an essential part of the plan — as it would seal the fate of the Karnassus City-State Alliance with just a single battle. So— why did he have to make things difficult ? Why did he tell the Guardians that it served as a training session to teach commanding skills to Aura ?

 _Ahh — what did I do..._

At first, he had thought of delegating the matter of strategy to Cocytus, but the latter had protested, that the victory should be for the Sorcerer King to take and that Ainz should take command of the army. However— he couldn't possibly take on this responsibility. His knowledge didn't suffice for leading an army into battle...

So he had found this excuse that Cocytus took well — thinking the Supreme One was trying to hone his skills as a teacher. And they went with the idea of letting Aura command under Cocytus supervision.

But what if she lost the battle in terms of strategy ?

Since it was his decision, they would probably end up looking at Ainz in disappointment as the whole plan would crumble into nothing.

"Ainz-sama ?"

 _My tummy hurts… If needed, I will send Shalltear in reinforcement._

『Umu... You may begin. I trust this will be a good learning experience for you and Aura. 』

"Understood. Then. We will do what is necessary to bring you victory."

* * *

 _At the border between the Baharut Empire and the City-State Alliance_

* * *

It was a freezing night, and they had a wall to guard—

That was quite an unenviable situation for the two watchmen who observed the land offered to their sights.

"Bloody hell. I hate taking the first guard duty !"

After a loud yawn, the taller of the two stretched to answer the complaint.

"Can't deny that. Although, these nights will soon be far behind us — just deal with it."

"Damn. If we ever get out of here and nothing happened, I swear, that I will punch the guy who warned Lord Drusus about this 'potential monster attack.'"

The other guard couldn't help but let out a snort of amusement at that silly statement. What an absurd idea to hurt a Mayor's source of intel... If a man treasured his life, he would stay away from the high-ranked nobles and endure their whims without complaining.

Perhaps he should knock the idea out of his friend's head ?

He thought of a sentence to retort to the dumb dreamer but stopped midway as he noticed something in the distance.

"Oyy— did you see that !? The mountain freaking moved."

His friend looked at him for a second before bursting out laughing.

"Ahh ha ah ! Are you having hallucinations ? A 'moving mountain' ? Don't tell me you can't handle a night without sleeping — or is it due to the stew ? Eh eh."

The guard rolled on the floor laughing while the other watched him with an angry look.

"Come on ! Stop it ! This is not funny !"

"Bwahaha ! Even the storytellers wouldn't be bold enough to narrate the story of 'moving mountains.' You've got quite the imagination to try and frighten me !"

With a grumble of dissatisfaction, the guard turned his back on his friend and, by innate reflex, watched the top of the rampart from where they came.

"…What the —"

He rubbed his eyes out of astonishment — maybe his friend was right after all, and he was having hallucinations ? Because there was a young woman who walked in their direction with a torch in one hand and the insignia of the Alliance embroidered on her cloth.

"T—The heck are you doing here !? Stop right where you are and state your identity !"

Hearing the rising voice of his companion, the other guard stopped laughing and rose back to his legs — wiping the tears flowing from his left eye. It was only a matter of time before his expression changed to a a look of perfect incredulity upon seeing the woman.

"Err—"

"Sorry to bother you ! I'm looking for Mirkah, my friend" she said.

It just resulted in the confusion of the veteran as to who she was and why she was here. What an odd situation… If not for the name of his general, the guard would have sounded the alarm right away — yet, he wanted to know why the girl thought of this excuse.

"At three freaking am ?!"

"Uhh… I thought I could see him as soon as I arrive. Is it wrong ?"

This reply was clearly unsatisfying, causing the watcher to turn to his friend and seek help.

 _**You— deal with her. This is stupid.**_

The latter gave a cold gaze before getting back to the lady.

"Aherm… I'll trust you, since you are wearing the first company's insignia, but don't expect a warm welcome from the general. Uhm… He decided to take the first watch with us for the army to follow his humble example. You'll find him at the next tower."

"That's all I asked for ! Thank you !"

The girl departed to follow the rampart road, while the guards looked at each other in confusion.

 _**The general's whore ? After all, she was searching for him at the right place...**_

 _**Well. He must be quite broke if he had to buy a night with an effeminate lad. Eh eh.**_

The two guards laughed at the weak joke, while watching the girl walk away.

"—sigh— Well. Joke aside, if it's not a fake, it must be important, since the girl wore that uniform… It better not be another monster alert. I'm already fed up with one."

The other guard shrugged his shoulders to show that — either way — it wasn't their responsibility to take care of her.

"Let's just get back to work — or we'll end up shame-naked for neglecting our duty."

Grimacing at the idea, the guard returned his eyes back to the plain and forgot about the woman for a while.

Their duty?

It was holding this "wall", which served as a natural obstacle against massive invasions. The high authorities feared that monsters from the Baharut Empire would flee the country and attack the City-State Alliance from this valley...

But it was a stupid order.

Even if the Sorcerer Kingdom had perturbed the forces lying in the shadow of their neighbors, monsters knew better than to strike a border fortification like this one. Anyone would question the very reason that pushed a high-ranked man to mobilize a cohort because of this mere suspicion — furthermore at the word of a low-born.

Basically what good would it do?

Give a sense of security to the citizens? Yet — it was costing a lot of food, money and time for a relatively uncertain payoff. The distant light from their military camp was proof of the price they had to pay for such an extravagant expedition. And that was without taking into account that the soldiers would get impatient — doing nothing but patrolling.

If you thought about it, there was something wrong with the decision.

— Although, it was dangerous for a soldier to analyze the choice of a Mayor and he stopped pondering it at once. After all, you should better keep a distance from all these dark schemes

Instead, he sighed and turned back to those 'oh so dangerous' grass plains .

It was a pleasant view. Conveying the feeling of being untouched by the hand of humans for generations of peace — all you ever needed to relax and let your imagination wander. However— upon closer inspection the scenery was disturbed by something abnormal in the distance, causing the veteran to tilt his head.

Curious to see what it was about, he leaned closer with interested eyes.

"*grumble* ...Can't see shit in this darkness."

"Mhh ? You said something?"

Ignoring his friend, the guard kept looking with a puzzled look — making his colleague shift his line of sight as well.

Indeed, there was a weird phenomenon distorting the air — like a heat shimmer advancing toward them. Both of the guards could clearly see it despite the darkness of the night.

"The heck is that ?"

It could not possibly be the product of a natural event, since they had hardly ever heard of anything like that, plus their sense of hearing seemed to be failing — as if the usual melody of the night was muffled, or non existent to be more correct.

Irrational fear seized the mind of the two guards as they realized the situation. They gulped by innate reflex.

It was no coincidence that the cicadas had stopped singing and that they did not hear the owls anymore — there was definitely some kind of magic at work.

 _The shimmer was a veil._

Over what ?

They had no idea, but logic screamed that it was disguising something dangerous — far more terrible than just the effect of a cold breeze. The watchers could only keep their eyes fixed on the mysterious danger that approached, frozen by curiosity and fear.

"[…]"

Time passed, and after a minute, the invisible cloak disappeared to reveal a frightening sight —

"— !"

The watchers' hearts skipped a beat as the color drained out of their faces, seeing that the fields had been replaced by the horrifying view of a vast army of undead—

Skeleton archers, full armored undead in tight formations or even anti-cavalry units — the frightful army was ready for a overwhelming attack of the City-States.

The humans of the military camp were wholly outnumbered five to one — their expedition being a force of dissuasion and not a real army. But, as impressive as the force of undead could be, it merely stood as a pile of bones compared to the far more alarming threat standing in front of them.

— There stood a behemoth, whose existence violated reason itself.

It resembled the product of a nightmare in every possible way. His body was a mountain, made entirely of stones and rocks, while his head surpassed the height of the wall — observing the two men from above. If not for the cuteness of his face, the two panicked soldiers would have thought themselves to be asleep in a dream filled with horror.

Time froze —

It felt like an unbearable eternity of unbearable suspense, waiting to see what would happen and what they would become.

"What are you waiting for, Gargantua ? Don't pay attention to this thrash and just destroy the wall. We're here to kill everyone anyway..."

Hearing the words of the dark elf who had just arisen from the shoulders of the beast, the watchers knew there was but one fate for them —

[Death].

They tried to think of a way out. But it was useless. The stone golem was already rising his hand high in the air to destroy the wall, and their teeth were clacking in terror. The soldiers knew they could not resist — it was a goddamn mountain who wanted to kill them after all... So, they just fell to their knee, dropping their weapons and letting desperation take the place of their rationality.

"M—Monster !"

The strength of the swing shattered the flank of the wall into thousands of fragments which were propelled everywhere — raising big clouds of dust as they landed in tumultuous impacts. It stirred a chaos that could be felt from hundreds of miles around, waking people up as they peeked at the origin of the disaster and letting anarchy replace the calm pace of the night.

— The wall had been destroyed.

It was the truth. There was now a gaping hole instead of the watchtower where the two guards initially stood — and the army of undead already rushed across the frontier to perpetuate their dark intentions.


	2. Chapter 1 Part 2

**[Fanfiction] Volume 14: The City-State**

* * *

 _Many thanks to **nobetteridea** , for proofreading and helping me improve this chapter._

 **Chapter 1 — Falling legends**

 **Part 2**

"... *ughhh*"

The veteran painfully opened his eyes to the dark sky. His mind had snapped from the earlier pressure, and his body had fallen unconscious — so he had no idea what was happening.

"Wh— Am I dead ?!"

His companion was close by, answering the question with a weak voice.

"*cough cough* A—As bizarre as it sounds, we're both alive."

Having just awakened, the man was too surprised to even move — who knows how the two watchers managed to miraculously escape death. They just lied on the grass, there, with a direct sight on the wall and its humongous breach. Upon understanding, the eyes of the dumbfounded soldier darted between the wall and his friend.

"We should be dead ! This thing destroyed the tower we were standing on ! Unless the gods decided to spare our lives, I don't see how we could have survived !"

"...W—We weren't lucky. The women from earlier, she saved us."

The answer only caused more confusion. So many questions floated around his mind. How was it possible ? Who was she ? Why would such a monster destroy the wall ? And over all of them — what happened ?

"Aww... That rock is amazing ! How come he moves so fast ?" - a sudden voice went interrupting his thoughts.

"Wh—"

The watcher was just too dazed to say anything. The mysterious woman had just broken into the midst of the two soldiers with absolutely no fear in her eyes. She was watching the breach, _excited_ about their current situation — and dismissing the fact that an army of undead was running into their territory. His shocked expression talked in his place as he looked directly into her gleaming eyes.

"Mhh ?... Oh, forgive me. I dragged you two without warning ! You're not hurt I hope ?"

The terrorized soldier was the first to reply with a weak voice — comforted by the presence of his savior.

"I can't stop shaking, but I'm fine..."

It brought back the other to his mind who let out his frustration explode.

"That's not the matter ! We're a mile away from a wall which is ninety feet tall. How the hell did you do this ?!"

"Well, I am not a fan of magic, but I can transform into a Thunderbird, which can fly."

The realization struck down the watcher, and his expression changed to astonishment. The sudden silence caused by the dead stop was such that the small group could hear the sounds of clinking weapons coming from the army of undead.

"Are you the legendary hero of the new City-State ? T—The Miracle Knight ?! But I thought he was a man."

The last remark was a direct blow to the heart of the young lady, but she stayed calm — talking with a passive-aggressive voice instead.

"Humph... I'm not supposed to be here, so please, keep it a secret. Will you ?"

The surprise of the guard quickly changed to joy as the woman confirmed his suspicion.

An angel had come to them in the darkest hours.

The Bringer of Storm, or the Miracle Knight by its more common name, was a national figure of the newly assimilated state. She may have caused many debates in the previous years, but she still became a vivid cause of interest in the country — in fact, she was the sole reason for integrating another City-State to the Alliance. Their miraculous escape was no coincidence. If it were for her, it would explain everything — this woman was the real deal.

"We're saved ! Fuck these undeads ! These monsters hold no chance against us if you wield your mythical weapons !—"

Looking at him with perplexed eyes and an embarrassed expression, the heroin interrupted the soldier before he could go on with his rant.

"I don't care about this... I've just come to beat the shit out of Mirkah. Just so you know, he didn't even warn me that he was planning to go to the Sorcerer Kingdom !"

"The general wanted to go to the — ?!"

The guard stopped midway as he thought of a terrible possibility.

Even though her lack of intention to fight was troubling, fearsome words resonated in his mind — 『Sorcerer Kingdom』.

The rumors had spread about this realm governed by a merciless undead. Some said that another demon god had descended from hell to unleash his legions while others claimed that it was just another occult group that wrecked havoc. However, among all the tales was one story that everybody feared.

— The massacre of Katze Plains.

All had the same conclusion about this event — that someone among the Sorcerer Kingdom could kill an entire army with a single spell. Knowing this, who would be dumb enough to oppose this overpowered being in an open battle ? Even if the general ordered the army to fight, the soldiers would just break the formation as soon they would see the face of their enemy — let alone the first skirmish.

"Y—You're joking right ?! Please tell me they're not from the Sorcerer Kingdom !"

"As if I knew ! Ask them yourself if you want. They're right there, running toward us !"

But the veteran knew it was true. There wasn't a lot of undead groups that could bring such destructive power on their own — it had to be the doing of the Sorcerer King.

"We're dead… Our children will be left at the hand of these beings who hates the livings. This is the doom of the City-States."

Watching the two guards fall to their knee with their crestfallen expressions, the Miracle Knight couldn't help but scold them with an angry voice.

"What are you kibitzing about ?! You can still fight — no ? If you don't want this to happen, you can still stand up and oppose your enemy. This is what life is about. You can only lose if you don't play the game."

She was right, it was dumb to give in and do nothing but bemoan their fates. Yet, they were just men — not monsters of power like the woman who stood at their side. They would need more than just the words of a legend to get in the fight.

"Hoya hoya ! What are those grim faces ?! I don't remember taking depressed morons among my men ?"

The sudden remark came from a round guy who was seated on a horse — watching his men with his helmet open. He displayed a big smile, fully geared in what seemed to be a luxurious magic armor with the emblem of his City adored to the right. A man of high rank without a single doubt.

"G—General Mirkah ?!"

But even his grade would not stop the mockery of the woman which stood among the four of them.

"Pffrr— What are you doing with my armor ? You're looking absolutely ridiculous !"

The regard of the general shifted on the third presence, causing him to barely choke upon seeing her.

"*cough cough*— Halona ?! You shouldn't be here !"

The sentence stopped him dead as he opened his mouth in astonishment. Not believing what he was seeing, he rubbed his nose for a few seconds in utter consternation — recovering from the shock and thinking of what he should do.

"Err… You two, ring the alarm, get the army ready to face that army of undead. We're not letting the City-States down."

The guards watched their general with dumb eyes, angering the latter.

"*grumph* Come on ! Do it faster than that !"

"A—Ayy General !"

The guards nodded in a hurry before leaving with a confused look.

Having them departed, the high-ranked man dismounted before getting to the woman — who displayed a radiant poker face.

"Ugh— As for you… Have you, _at least_ , read the message I sent ?!"

She tilted her head to one side and brought a finger to her mouth in a sign of her obliviousness.

"*sigh*…You are their target, Halona. Leave the battlefield before anyone know you are here. I'm going to—"

"No ! I'm not leaving, I'm furious. I just realized that the old man lied to me — saying that you were joining the Sorcerer Kingdom."

The general made a disconcerted face — he wasn't aware of that lie that had been circulating on him.

"Well, for sure am not. But who—"

"And these guys barely knocked me off the wall. I'm quite pissed right now. I need to beat the shit out of something."

She wasn't joking about it. When Halona would talk about doing something, _she would do it_ — and nothing would stop her. Knowing about this, the general instantly forgot about reasoning her and instead went for another plan.

"*sigh* As stubborn as ever… You won't listen whatever I'm saying, right ? Then, promise me you won't reveal who you are to anyone — I didn't put this armor for you to spoil everything."

Halona watched the armor with a smug face, ready to burst out in laughter.

"Promise me !"

"Okay, Okay ! You're not funny… I swear I won't tell anyone."

Her cheek puffed to show her sulkiness while the panicking general turned to see the army of undead advancing — glaringly ignoring her poot as he lost himself in his thoughts.

 _**This is stupid... Why is Halona here ? And why is the Sorcerer Kingdom attacking us ? Are they just here to take human lives ? If so, their formation is way too advanced for a group of skeletons. I should think of a countermeasure.**_

Halona stopped sulking letting out an 'oh!' as she observed the surroundings in impatience. She had seen something and couldn't help but make a remark about it.

"Hey ! There are some soldiers running over there... Are these yours ?"

However, the general was rooted in his thoughts and did not hear Halona talking nor did he realized that his men were running toward the undead army without him.

 _**I just can't understand the goal behind all of this. I thought it was a peaceful negotiation ? What good would it be to destroy the wall and attack us ?**_

"Mhh ? They engaged the fight without us— you're fine with that ?"

"Huh ?! …"

The general averted his eyes on the fields where his men had already engaged the melee with the army of undead.

"...What the hell are they doing ?!"

He squinted to get an understanding of the situation and — embarrassment and disarray in his eyes — he finally distinguished his lieutenant at the head of his army.

"This dumbass ! He panicked and launched a direct attack ! ... Sorry, Halona, I need to go, you know what you—"

"Yeah, yeah… Just go ahead."

Smiling to his friend, Mirkah gripped the saddle of his horse with two hands and raced toward the confrontation.

He knew how it would all end.

Seasoned warriors or not, if his men fought like this, they would unquestionably run to their total annihilation. Just what in the hell went through their heads ? It was dumb to think they could fight a disfavored battle without thinking of a prior strategy — the undead still outnumbered them 5 to 1 after all.

They better had to have a good excuse to give him...

In any case, he had to take control without losing time and reorganize his troops at once if he wanted to avoid the worst. Because, for the time during, the battle was a one-sided rout. Perhaps the graded officers had underestimated the child who commanded the undead ? After all, it was just a kid—

Or maybe was it the doing of the insect-like creature in her company ?

No, thinking about it, he was a mere observer in this battle, and she was the one in command. A single glance could tell. Her gestures, her alertness about the battlefield or that giant stone golem who stayed at her sides — it was as clear as water.

 _**My men must have been lured by her doing. But what did she do ?**_

Analysis of the enemy's commander was part of the battle. However, the dark elf was letting nothing transpire — all that Mirkah could see was his enemy stretching her arms, nothing valuable enough to make a decent strategy.

 _**Just what is she thinking ? She must be planning something… Think. There has to be a way to turn the tables. They can't be attacking us without a reason.**_


	3. Chapter 1 Part 3

**[Fanfiction] Volume 14: The City-State**

* * *

 _Once again thank you, **nobetteridea** , for proofreading this chapter and helping me present it in a better light !_

 **Chapter 1 — Falling legends**

 **Part 3**

"Boorriing !~~ To think that I worked so hard just to be met with that nonsense… It's just tiresome now."

In response to the complaint, the pale blue insectoid exhaled and froze his surroundings in the process .

"By experience, I would recommend you to double your efforts. Even if the task seems easy, you can always get surprised by an unexpected turn of events."

Aura turned to Cocytus with a complaining face as she puffed her cheeks.

"It's not my fault, that there is nothing to do… Fuuu~~ I'm bored ! The humans literally ran into us without a plan ! It will all be over without any difficulty."

"There's always something to do in battle, Aura-sama. Knowing the Supreme One, there's probably more to this human's mistake."

Cocytus paused for a moment.

"...However. It is true that you led the army with skill beyond the level of a beginner. Your use of maneuvering strategy was particularly impressive — I am sure Ainz-sama will be pleased."

But the dark elf seemed disinterested in the counseling words of the Floor Guardian — in fact, she was genuinely pissed at their situation.

According to Ainz-sama, a human called the 'Miracle Knight' should have come alongside the small battalion of humans they were facing. He had asked Aura and Cocytus to be careful about the unique ability of this individual and to kill him, if there ever was an occasion. But, despite the words of the Supreme One, their target was nowhere to be seen. Why would Ainz-sama insist on this particular human, if he wouldn't come ? It was rather odd…

For this reason, the simple fact that she could have missed something, Aura was more annoyed than ever.

It was impossible that the Supreme One could have made a mistake. No. The fault must be lying in his subordinates — meaning Aura herself. She must have forgotten an essential part of the plan, and for this reason, she couldn't get to calm herself. That was why all of her attention was fixed on the battlefield, hoping to unravel even the tiniest piece of information regarding the location of the Miracle Knight.

"...Mhh~~ ? The humans are acting differently. They stopped doing stupid things."

Listening carefully to the sounds of the battle, the dark elf suddenly stood up with sparkling eyes — stirring up the curiosity of Cocytus.

— A lot of humans seemed to be regrouping around an individual, and their cries of joy could be heard up to the top of the wall.

 _**The Bringer of Storm is with us !**_

 _**Hoorray !**_

 _**The tides have turned !**_

Aura's face turned into a big smile.

"He's here ! I shouldn't have doubted it. I'm relieved !~~ Now, we can finish this !"

The reaction from Cocytus, however, completely differed from the dark elf`s anticipation.

"Do not rush. The Supreme One told us to evaluate the potential of this enemy before trying anything. If you look closely — the humans regained their morale and reformed their formation. The appearance of their hero must be the reason for this."

After a slight moment of doubt, Aura took a quick glance at the fields before releasing a shocked expression — the morale of the humans had gone through the rooftop, and it seemed like they were slowly regaining the upper hand.

"Ohh !— Incredible ! They were in a desperate situation just a minute ago."

She thought for a moment, letting slip out a sound of excitement in the process.

"Hehe~~ I should send the two Death Knights that Ainz-sama gave me, right ?"

Cocytus made a clacking noise of satisfaction — in approval of the plan.

"Indeed. If we crush the spirit of their troops, the humans will definitely flee, and victory will be ours. Furthermore, if this newcomer really is that strong, he won't have trouble getting rid of them — allowing us to judge if he really is a threat for Nazarick."

"Then. Let's do this !"

Happy with herself, Aura clapped her hands and relayed her orders to the two death knights waiting at the bottom of the wall. Two pairs of demonic horns lifted up at the sound and listened to her voice in silence. They waited for Aura to finish her explanation, and began running past the other undead up to the front line, covering dozens of meters with each step.

It didn't take long before they joined in the battle and started reaping the ranks of the humans — killing everyone as if it was a massive game of "Whac-A-Mole". In no time, the undead's champions had instated a reign of terror over the whole battlefield. Like shadows of death they came to bring slaughter to all mankind — collecting the souls of their dispersed enemies who struggled against the everlasting troops of undead. No humans pretended to fight the two mountains that rampaged among their brothers — or the fools who thought so were quickly reminded of their weakness.

"What in the name of the Four Great Gods is this ?!"

It was the General Mirkah who asked this question. He had just finished greeting and reorganizing his troops, when he found himself faced with this situation.

"H—How can we fight this ?" responded one of his soldiers.

The general painfully witnessed the Death Knights rampage from afar, shocked by the power of the two individuals and sickened by the spectacle. They were probably the enemy's champions, he thought. Monsters of legend if his eyes weren't deceiving him — and of the kind which only appeared every other century to top it all. It wasn't hard to see that his men would get slaughtered, if those beasts kept their advance without finding an equal.

He had to stop them before the morale of his troops would drop —

Panicked, he glanced at Halona who returned his worries. She instinctively understood what she had to do and rushed to face one of the two Death Knights with a grin on her face.

 _**This mad woman. She understood without me talking.**_

It made Mirkah happy nonetheless, and even more determined to bring forth some semblance of a plan. With a now severe face, he turned to his commanders and cleared his throat.

"Retreat toward the hill and lure one of their champions to me ! I want all casters to follow. We will show those abominations that we can still fight."

Upon finishing the sentence, a cry in honor of the Miracle Knight resounded throughout the fields — making Mirkah blush instantly. For a moment, he had forgotten that he had disguised himself as the Miracle Knight.

 _**Fuck that's embarrassing. Ahhh— Me and my stupid ideas... At least, it is working out well.**_

It was a decision he had made before joining his troops.

Mirkah had concluded that hiding his friend's true identity would be more beneficial, than openly revealing her. She was his primary asset after all. It was essential to use her wisely and protect her like a kingdom's treasure. Thus, it was only natural to lead your enemy onto a false track — making them waste their resources on pursuing an illusion. He just had to regroup his Magic Casters around him to lay a trap and wait for them to get hooked on it. Furthermore, it would have been a shame to not make use of this knowledge, when he had all the tools to make the deceit believable.

Because— who would you believe to be the legend of the sixth City-State ?

— A mounted man in magic armour, or a weird woman without weapons ?

Be it an ally or an enemy, they would be prompt to pick a side — knowing that only one armor of its kind existed in the entire kingdom and that it had been awarded to the Miracle Knight alone. What they did not know, however, was that Halona would never wear it. She thought about it as a decoration more than a tool for battle and hated the attention that it brought her. So much that, in the end, she had entrusted it to her friends, telling them anyone could wear it, if they wanted.

 _**I could really get used to wearing this armor. It's difficult not to get drunk on its power...**_

"A report for you, Bringer of Storm. The undead casters used magic on our horses — who are now refusing to carry our soldiers and are deliberately running toward the undead lines in an attempt to kill themselves."

Mirkah`s gaze turned toward his scout while biting his lower lip — he was furious about the news. He had planned to use the horses as a backup plan, in case something went wrong — but it seemed like his enemy would not let them flee.

"*kss* The Sorcerer King is mocking us. If he thinks that I will be outmaneuvered by a mere child, he is greatly underestimating me. Does he think that I will make the same mistake my lieutenant made? In that case, let's make him pay the price for his arrogance."

Since fleeing wasn't an option against tireless opponents, he had no choice but to win this battle, if he wanted his men to live.

He turned to his commanders and began explaining his strategy. It was mostly small unit tactics and a global concentration of his forces to counter the undead's advances. In fact, Mirkah had remarked that his opponent barely used any Magic Casters among his ranks, and he could definitely take advantage of this slight imbalance. If he could eliminate the skeleton mages and concentrate his troops into a single spear, his soldiers would efficiently destroy their opponents without any strong resistance. A bit of luck, and it would work for long enough to take down the two Death Knights — then anticipate the answer of the dark elf.

"You're going to fight those two monsters ?!"

"Only one, my friend. A woman I trust will take care of the second. She's more skilled than me in combat."

"S—Stronger than you ? *gasp* Is it the Rhapsodist Goddess or the Dark Knight ?! But I thought those eccentrics who would not take part in combat !"

The general grimaced once again as he remembered that he was supposed to be the Miracle Knight — a role which forbade him to make such a statement lightly.

"Erm… There is no time to lose. Get back to your duty."

The executive commander nodded and walked back to his troops, relaying the various orders to the others. An inevitable cry of joy ensued as the name of the Rhapsodist Goddess popped into the conversation — making Mirkah cover his face in shame. He could have found a better explanation, than drowning this extravagance in a lie, but now was not the time to think about that —

They had to take care of the mythical undead before anything else.

With a loud sigh, the general lifted his head back up and watched the soldiers regroup around him. When everyone was in place, he took a deep breath and started his speech.

"Listen ! Our target is that legendary undead who's killing our brothers. This abomination was sent to kill every last one of us — and the duty to stop him lies in our hands. Fail this task, and we will all die. Succeed, and you will see yourself covered in glory and alive tomorrow. Your comrades need you, soldiers ! Onwards ! Help me unleash your fury on this enemy !"

The soldiers yelled in unison.

It was how the humans were taught the way of war in the second City-State. Each one of them had gone through difficult training for an opportunity like this one, and nothing would be enough to distract them from their goal now that it was in their reach. It was a promise of land and wealth which ignited their will.

However, when they found themselves facing the beast after a pompous walk — the sight paralyzed the battalion.

The sudden killing intent stopped them dead in place, and horror slowly filled their minds. Upon seeing Mirkah, the Death Knight had released a vicious aura which had immediately grown to an unbearable intensity for the soldiers. It felt like being under a mountain of rubble — barely able to move or think while a predator crept upon you. A shock which made the spirit of the small contingent crumbled down into oblivion.

"We can do this ! Be courageous !"

Mirkah talked without conviction — he was afraid too. The legendary undead triggered his inner instincts like nothing else before, and he knew that if it weren't for the duty he carried, it would have been impossible for him to face the Death Knight.

 _**What the hell is this feeling ?! My soldiers can't fight this monster !**_

Watching his opponents shivering from fear, the undead made a noise resembling a peal of laughter before taking the glaring opportunity that they gave him — rushing toward the humans in an indefectible charge.

Anguish overwhelmed the rationality of the general, and he instinctively grabbed a strange crystal from his bag. Thinking rationally, it was a joker which should have been used as a last resort, but the terror had already taken control, and Mirkah cracked it without thinking — as if to reassure himself and his men that they had no reason to be afraid. His country had bestowed this item of exceptional power onto him for situations like this one — a relic of the Thirteen Heroes that had been passed through the generations. If he did not use it now, after all there would be no other situation where it would be worth to consider using it...

"We're not afraid, monster ! B—Behold the power of the ancient heroes !"

A pillar of flames engulfed the charging Death Knight as the crystal vanished into nothingness. You could hear the muffled scream of the undead during the chaos — resembling the lamentation of a tortured soul. It lasted for a few seconds, the spell producing a heat so intense that the soldiers had to fall back from the sources of the impact — unsure of what was happening before their eyes. All eyes were fixed on the unrelenting force with fear and admiration, awaiting the outcome of the highest tiered magic they could ever hope to witness — evaluated to be seventh tier spell by the Magic Guild.

The intense light faded away — leaving nothing behind but a small pile of ashes.

Upon this realization, the battalion cheered up with smiles replacing the gloomy looks on their faces. The monster had been defeated so easily, the pent up tension was suddenly released and gave way to resounding laughter.

"...Ah ! Ah ah ! That's the Bringer of Storm for you !"

"Eh— Eh eh ! Even the strongest undead are no match for him ! To think that we were afraid."

— However, little did they know about the special skill of the Death Knight, which permitted him to survive one lethal attack.

Before the soldiers could even celebrate properly, the bones of their enemy slowly began reforming. His ashes flew in the air, rebuilding the structure of his skeleton, and reconstituting the dark mantle that he formerly carried. His skeletal hands grabbed the insane shield and the peculiar sword which went with it, and soon, the Death Knight stood once again before the soldiers — his scream of pure hatred being a perfect demonstration of his recovered strength

"~OOOOOOAAAAAHHHH!~"

"*gasp* N—No ! It's impossible !"

The killing intent of the Death Knight resurfaced in an instant — stronger than before — making Mirkah and his men to almost choke in fear, as they watched their enemy brandish his sword with a roar. Their hopes had been shattered in an instant, like a pan of glass smashed by a shock wave. What could remain of their confidence, if even a seventh tier spell couldn't kill this monster ?

Nevertheless, there was something odd about his aura.

Without a doubt the pressure was stronger and more stifling than before, yet it felt weaker at the same time — as if the legendary undead was panting of exhaustion. The general noticed the slight difference and stopped shivering to observe in silence.

"[...]"

Yes !

This thing had taken damage after all. It had trouble lifting its shield, and his movements were slower than before.

"Do not give in to fear — we can kill it ! It is just a trick, to make us think it's unharmed !"

Easier said than done. The Death Knight did not wait for the General to finish his speech and rushed toward the closest Magic Casters in anger, reaping three of them in a single sword slash. Mirkah cursed the gods for his negligence, and charged into the clash to block the second attack with his massive shield.

"Urghh… Quick ! Purge him with Holy Magic !"

Confused about the situation, only a few men actually listened to the order and began casting spells known to be effective against undead. The dead corpses of their friends were already returning from death to turn against them — a surprise, which made some of the Casters hesitate for a second. This allowed the Death Knight to sense the danger and propel his opponent to take a defensive stance.

Mirkah landed a few meters away letting out a *ouch* of pain with a confused face.

He watched his opponent for a few seconds — trying to understand. Why would the undead take risks to defend himself against these weak spells ? It unflinchingly withstood the power of a kingdom's treasure but cared about being hit by those lesser abilities ? There was probably something more to his behavior...

Or could it be that it took a lot more damage than it was letting them know ?

[...!]

"Press on the attack ! He must not flee from his inevitable end !"

Still unsure about their advantage, the soldiers hesitated to advance against the Death Knight, as they already struggled against the undead corpses of their brothers. It seemed to be unaffected by their assaults, so why would they risk their lives in a battle of exhaustion — knowing that if they died, they would turn into zombies ? They would just feed reinforcements to the undead who could probably endure their assaults for hours before letting go…

 _**[Heart of Valor]**_

— However, how could they be called men, if they allowed their hero to go into the fray alone ?

First one, then two and finally four men subsequently ran side by side with their hero to put an end to the frightful opponent. They circled the creature and attacked its flanks with a firm determination — standing as one to surpass their fear. The soldiers wanted to be like this man and face the monster that froze them in place. They wanted, if only for a second, to stand with him in battle and die like heroes. One could not explain the weird feeling they had at this moment — it simply felt like a natural instinct to follow Mirkah in his charge.

However, this resistance was a futile attempt against a trapped beast — and it made it go full berserk.

The anger could be felt in every single blow of the Death Knight, who killed a soldier every time he swung his sword — and summoned another zombie to help him. The frustration and fury of the monster were passed to his surroundings like rain on the mountain — making him stronger every time he faced a new opponent and recovering a bit of his force every moment he survived an assault.

Yet— it remained unscathed. Not a single soldier could get past his defense.

It painfully showcased the difference in power between the Death Knight and the weaklings facing him. As expected of such a legendary undead… But it made the truth unbearable for the soldiers. What would happen to their country if they couldn't kill a single one of those beasts ? Hopefully, Mirkah had finished incapacitating the zombies blocking him and finally engaged the undead — using martial arts to find a way to his spine.

"[Flow Acceleration] !"

**crackle**

A harsh blow that enraged the Death Knight even further. His wrath turned to Mirkah who barely found the time to defend himself against the lightning speed of his opponent's attack. Protecting himself with all he could, his large shield withstood the assault of the undead and fell into pieces — the serrated sword shattering it like a mirror.

As fast as he could, the dumbfounded general threw away the remainings and grabbed his sword with both hands to parry the next attack.

**clung**

"Urgghh !"

With its ridiculous strength, the creature cut through the sword as if it was butter — the blade lodging in the general's shoulder who couldn't believe what was happening. The cold sensation of the sword was the only truth Mirkah could feel now, and he knew instinctively that his friend's armor had saved his life.

— But there was no time to think about his injury.

His fearsome foe was already preparing to behead him.

"*u—uh* K—Kill it, now !"

The Magic Casters released their spells at the command, striking the Death Knight with full force.

The serrated sword stopped mid-air — and Mirkah could clearly see the waves of terrifying red and black fog which agitated the surrounding like a constant heartbeat. It looked like the assault had succeeded — the monster had not dodged — and everyone was pausing to watch the outcome in a minute of troubled silence.

— The Death Knight fell down.

It had collapsed before being able to give the decisive blow, leaving the general wounded but alive. Along with his fall, the murderous aura quickly disappeared along with the zombies he had summoned and a wave of relief flowed through the soldiers.

They finally managed to slay the titan in black armor.

"YYIIIIIHHHAAAA !"

"We did it !"

It was a victory. And even more considering the strength of their opponent. The fight would probably get recounted in some stories as a harsh battle that ended up in a human's win — yet, the time was not of celebration.

The army of undead was close by and — even if their champion had fallen — it was far from over.

"*hun* You will rejoice later. We still have an enemy to defeat ! *uh* Get back to the fight — in formation !"

"Y—Yes sir !"

The small battalion regrouped to a tight unit, to join their allies, while two soldiers stayed behind to help their panting general get back on his legs.

"Don't look at me like that and let me fight ! *pant* I'll die a glorious death on the battlefield, and not lying in a bed like an old man !"

"But—"

"It's an order ! Execution !"

Mirkah had taken a mortal blow, and the soldiers shivered at the gruesome sight. It was clear, that even the best healers in the City-States would have trouble keeping him alive with all the blood that was spurting out of his shoulder — he would die in about an hour at best. But — the general did not say that his death was ultimately desired, not as Mirkah a general of the city of Korte, but as the hero of the new City-State — the Miracle Knight.

He was far from stupid.

As a genius strategist, he had brilliantly conjectured that everything was part of a conspiracy to get rid of him and his friend Halona. The rancor of Mayor Clavo had been growing time and time again, so it was only natural that he would try to kill them one day or the other — and it seemed self-evident that this expedition would have been part of their arranged murder. At first, he had thought that the nobles would have used Ijaniya and fake their assassinations by telling the masses it was a monster ambush — however — they had managed to get the help of the Sorcerer Kingdom in the matter.

How, and why were his men also targeted ? It was a mystery.

But now, he was confident that the Sorcerer Kingdom was no joke in term of brute power. Deep inside, he understood that the Death Knights weren't the champions of the Sorcerer King — because, otherwise, they would not have disappeared like mere summonings.

But even if he could guess this, those thoughts terrorized him.

If a kingdom's treasure couldn't kill a lesser servant, what could they do against a real champion of the Sorcerer Kingdom ? Even if Halona equipped every treasure the City-States possessed, she wouldn't be able to put a scratch on such an opponent — should he exist. So, when he had understood, his first thought had been to sacrifice himself for her. If he could fake her death upon the field of battle and free her from the influence of the many powerful enemies who despised her — it would be enough for him. Her life was more important than his own in this dark plot.

 _**Off you go Halona, and may you understand my intentions. I'll make sure that your name stays in the legends and give you the freedom you wanted. This is your chance — take it. And for god's sake, do not reveal who you are… **_

Resolved to face his last moments with glory, eyes laid upon the little girl who commanded the army of the dead.

What the hell was she doing ?

She did not send any reinforcements to help her champion, and it was as if her troops had avoided interrupting the fight between Mirkah and the Death Knight. Besides, there had been no reaction to his counter-strategy, and his soldiers had taken back the advantage — as though the dark elf did not care the least about the outcome of the battle.

He gulped out of bitterness, slowly understanding what was happening.

So that was the goal of the Sorcerer King ? To judge their strength and do the dirty job of the First Mayor — thus gaining influence within the City-States ? Putting it like this, Mirkah and his soldiers seemed to be no more than steps for him to climb… Just how far would those nobles go, to get rid of their political enemies ? And what did they pay to get the help of the Sorcerer King ?

"*tsk* Unforgivable..."

There was no way he would keep on playing the game of those prideful bastards. He knew that it was already too late to withdraw from the fight, but there was still something he could do.

Quite a simple task actually.

If only he could kill the dark elf before his death, he would honor the name of his friend and show the world that they should not have underestimated the two of them.

His decision taken, he turned his cold gaze toward his enemy, wishing upon the gods that he would be able to land a decisive blow.


	4. Chapter 1 Part 4

**[Fanfiction] Volume 14: The City-State**

Two issues for the price of one ! ＼（＾▽＾）／

* * *

 _As per usual, I want to thank **nobetteridea** , for proofreading the chapter, improving it by a mile !_

 **Chapter 1 — Falling legends**

 **Part 4**

"Erk !"

"What is it, Aura-sama ?" said Cocytus.

The dark elf retook a neutral stance, although a bit of anger remained in her voice.

"Nothing !~~ I sensed the killing intent of one of these monkeys, and it made me shiver of disgust."

"...Well. I think we have seen enough, don't you think ?"

"I'm with you on this one ! I can't let Ainz-sama's creation get killed without reacting — let's end this."

There was palpable wrath in her talk — as if losing the two creature entrusted to her by Ainz was an inexcusable failure. However, after the lessons he had learned, Cocytus understood why they had to form an army from the lowest servants in the Great Tomb of Nazarick and silently observe without interfering.

"Do not get carried away. It was Ainz-sama's will to sacrifice these two. They should have faced that hero together for us to determine his strength so we could—"

"I know I know… They had spells on them to make them stronger. But look, even split apart they barely took down their strongest fighters… Fuuu~ It's just pathetic. I got a bit excited by the first spell, but it looks like it was all they got..."

Which meant the humans were utterly weak, compared to the both of them, and that they could kill them as instructed. Yet, Cocytus knew that he should not just follow orders blindly, but carefully watch and make adjustments on the fly to reflect the true intentions of his master.

"If you think so, then we can proceed. But remember what Ainz-sama said about their potential items. We must be quick."

"Aye ! I will just kill them from up here and leave no possibility for them to use any semblance of a World-Item — they don't even know we're here anyway… They're just dumbly staring at the two decoys on the wall."

Aura got right to the point. It should prove to be an efficient method to take care of this task without risking anything — therefore, Cocytus could only approve of her plan.

"Good idea. I'll take the lead of the army as you will be occupied. Do you approve ?"

"No problem~~. The goal was to teach me how to lead, and we're about to end the battle. So I can leave the rest to you, right ?"

"Then. Let's carry out Ainz-sama's order and put an end to it all."

Their course of action decided, Aura started moving to a better position and grabbed her bow with both hands. She could sneak and rain arrows down on the humans with no difficulty, but she had to be careful of the Magic Casters, who could reveal her position.

 _**Pheew~~. Mare would definitely be better for this kind of job. He would just use one spell, and it would all be over...**_

Instead of adopting a mass killing strategy, Aura began transmuting air molecules in her lungs to prepare a single target ability. The newly recombined breath was not a natural substance, and it leaked from between her pink lips.

 _**First, let's kill this disappointing 'Miracle Knight'.**_

The dark elf first activated a mind-affecting skill, aimed to tamper with the brain of her enemy. It was little, but she wanted to tease the human before killing him. Aura was still angry that the latter had slain Ainz's Death Knight, and she wouldn't let him have a quiet death. Done with that part, she nocked an arrow on the bowstring while casting various silent spells — two strengthening abilities and an active ability which made smoke emerge from the head. Even for a commoner, the terrific power that now rose from the handle was enough to trigger an insatiable desire of burying themselves up to hide from the danger. It truly felt like a masterpiece of destructive power.

"[Galactic Shot]."

With an elegant movement, the shot was released into the air at an incredible speed, flying toward its motionless target, which met its death like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

—

"...What the hell is this ?"

Mirkah was confused about what just happened. All of a sudden, his whole vision had turned dark, and his senses had started failing to feed him information.

"It's your world. Or mine now that you're dead~~"

His eyes turned to the figure that appeared from the shadows.

"The dark elf ?! ... And it seems like you teleported me somewhere else. So you were a magic caster after all."

"Mhh. Not really~~ I'm feeding illusions directly into your mind, my lil' Miracle Knight. It's not a spell. More like an inner instinct that weaklings like you carry with them."

 _**The Miracle Knight ?! They still don't know about Halona ? My stupid idea worked after all. Thank the god that no one knows her face.**_

Mirkah laughed. The dark elf was probably telling the truth, but it didn't matter. If they killed him and left, he would have won this battle.

"Ah ah ! You think yourself to be above us ? Let me tell you one thing: you're going to be disappointed if you kill me."

Aura's smile grew wider as she watched her prey struggle to intimidate her.

"Don't look down on me, human. I know what you're thinking. That's why we won't let anyone get away, and particularly not this woman who killed one of Ainz-sama's creation."

Mirkah let a slight movement reveal his anxiety about the statement. He instantly reverted himself to the defensive, trying to regain the upper hand.

"You're underestimating the City-States, little girl. We may not be as strong as the Holy Kingdom or the Baharut Empire, but our history taught us to deal with your kind."

"Then show me. I'm curious."

Getting angry about the arrogance of his opponent, the general tried to grab a trinket from his belt, but his hand traversed the air without touching anything; realizing that his equipment had disappeared.

"Wh— What the ?!"

The dark elf laughed as Mirkah slowly realized that he couldn't use martial arts, nor magic.

"Remember that you're under my control, human. You can't do any harm while in this state. Plus, didn't I already tell you ? I know everything. We have intel about your special ability, and I know that I can't let you use it."

Mirkah's face changed to an expression of frustration as he understood the vast power of his enemy. It felt like the dark elf controlled everything in this world, and that he would only end up as a victim if things kept this way. His eyes faced the ground for a second — thinking. If he couldn't harm his enemy, there was still one thing he could control. One way for him to retaliate.

"...So, that's how it is. Then— I have nothing more to tell you. Go to hell, demon. I won't let you have my life."

The general turned his back on his enemy and grabbed his swords to dig it deep into his heart — but without success. It wasn't because he had hesitated. No. His body wasn't responding to his will anymore, and the sword had pierced him without causing any damage.

"Oh oh ! A coward~~ You didn't think that I would let you die without playing a little ?"

" _*ksk*_ You— What is this ?!"

A demonic smile appeared on Aura's cute face.

"You already know what's happening. Since you're already dead. Only a part of your spirit remains, causing the body's natural instincts to keep your brain alive. If I am correct, you have up to ten minutes before your neural activity stops completely. During this time, you can count on me to make every second a nightmare."

An expression of panic dawned on Mirkah's face. If a little girl was that strong in the Sorcerer Kingdom, did it mean they had held back their assault on the field ?

"If you're thinking about winning time for your friends to leave, it's useless. Most of them are already dead by now."

He understood now. What a stupid idea it had been to confront the dark elf... And how naive he had been to think that he could have won.

Piece by piece, his determination had been crushed by his opponent. A feeling of emptiness so intense that depression could not qualify for it. For the proud general to have his strength utterly denied and sent to oblivion, was a frustrating trial which destroyed his mind. Usually, he would always have a backup plan to retaliate, but at this very moment, he had none. The very essence of his free will had just been sapped from his soul and fed to the dogs, forcing him to endure the torments before his death. He had lost control over his own mind, the most precious treasure for a man of his stature, and he could not even save a single life. Mirkah couldn't say that it was unfair, nor could he say that he could have won. He simply had lost utterly and completely.

And for the first time in his life, he was feeling terror.

Not because of what he would have to endure next — but because he didn't have a single idea on how the humans should face such an opponent. It was impossible.

—

"AAAHAAAHAAHrghhh—"

"Oyy ! What the hell ?! The Miracle Knight laughed, and then he suddenly fell ?"

There was confusion about what had just happened. The soldiers had been fighting some Blood Meat Hulks when their commander had suddenly stopped moving before laughing maniacally — looking much like he had been mind-controlled.

"*gasp* No way ! He got shot— it's probably poison which made him go crazy ! Someone go check him !"

A bunch of soldiers rushed to help their general and quickly removed his helmet to let him breathe — allowing a gasp of astonishment to escape their mouths as they recognized the face.

"Hey ! This is not the Miracle Knight. It's just General Mirkah in the armor !"

"WHAT ?!"

The shocked noise spoke for everyone.

"...Why would he do that ? It makes no sense..."

They stopped — letting their companions handle the enemy's frontline — and silently observed the panicked medic trying to make sense of the wound. The soldiers knew it had a meaning which was way beyond a simple disguise, and they needed time ponder the thought. Why would their beloved officer do such things ? According to current information, Mirkah had been killed on the wall by that giant stone golem — he wasn't even supposed to be alive. But knowing him, there had to be a deeper meaning to this deceit. Since he had been shot, did it mean he had failed ? Or was it another trap, to confuse his enemy ?

The soldiers did not know.

And a flock of arrows released by their enemy made any further thought on the matter impossible.

"Augh—"

"SHIELDS !"

The front-line mechanically walked two steps backward and raised their shields to form a turtle formation. Little did they know that the arrows held an unexpected power which pierced their defense as if they were made of fabric.

"Argh— !"

"What is this magic ?! We need to bring General Mirkah to a safe place ! R—Retreat ! It's urghh—"

A rock had pierced the throat of the officer. It was the doing of the stone golem who threw big chunks of stones toward the battlefield — caring neither for his allies, nor for his enemies. Panic and confusion started reigning in the big cloud of dust caused by the impact. The chain of command had been broken in an instant, and the soldiers ended up dispersed and disorganized in their confusion.

"*cough cough* W—What's happening ?!"

A question lost among the mess. Arrows, projectiles, humans corpses or even explosions... The human soldiers were suddenly assaulted with all sorts of terrible dangers coming from everywhere. An enemy counterattack ? They knew from experience that it was a deadly situation, which gave but one choice — to retreat as soon as they could and bring their general along.

Therefore they fled — trying to avoid the death which waited around every corner and running for their lives as chaos spread everywhere.

It was too difficult to make sense of what was happening. The battle had turned into genocidal slaughter too quickly, becoming a massacre that no one would ever have considered. If this was the end game of their enemies, they had hidden their trump card well — mocking the human's army by letting them fight until they unleashed this anarchy upon them. However, they would never know the truth...

After a good minute of chaos and death, a group of surviving soldiers stopped to catch their breath in a relatively safe place.

" _*pant* *pant*_ We're carrying him… B—but, is General Mirkah alive ?"

One of the men who carried the body, out of doubt, stopped to put two fingers on the neck of the latter.

"...He has no pulse. He must have died in the heat of the moment."

The atmosphere became even darker. Mirkah's men admired him like no other officer for his fantastic decision-making and the love he gave to his soldiers. Believing he was dead had put weight on their hearts before engaging the battle — but it was nothing compared to attending to it in person.

"He probably had a good reason for the disguise, let's just keep that for us. We shall honor his death with our silence."

However, there was someone among the soldiers who had been even more phased by the revelation, and he could not contain his sentiment anymore.

"B—But the Miracle Knight is here ! She saved me from the giant stone monster on the wall !"

" _She_ ? Are you drunk or something ? The wall is a mile away. I don't see how you could have passed an entire army of fucking undead after facing this outrageous monster... We should focus on our survival instead of pursuing your chimeras."

There was no way he could retaliate after this. At the time, he had been knocked unconscious — so it wasn't as if he could talk about it without people laughing at him. Wherever she was now, he could just pray that he had not hallucinated it...

"Humph… Why would people think I'm a man ?! For god's sake, I'm a girl. Can't you see ! *sigh*"

The soldiers turned to the new figure in bewilderment who stabbed a finger at her chest.

"Uhhh— Forget about that. Where's the general ? I've come to ask him where I should go next. The first challenge he gave me was quite exciting, but it made me incredibly mad about the whole hating the living thing of these guys. I just want him to take the lead so he can turn the tides. He always has a good idea to use my power."

The heads were facing earth, not willing to answer the question. She certainly had a will of iron to be able to fight in such situation — but she was probably talking about Mirkah in her plan. They couldn't just answer her. It would be similar to telling the truth about the general's identity — and an insult to his will, if they broke the promise they had just made.

So they stayed silent.

Except for—

"He died. We are carrying his corpse" one of the soldier said shamelessly.

It resulted in the closest comrade to violently punching the shoulder of the offender, resulting in a *what?* escaping from his mouth.

Maybe he deserved it — witnessing the face of the woman who opened her mouth in dismay. She had shifted her attention toward the corpse of her friend and began shakily walking toward him, silently realizing the truth.

"Uhh ?"

Her eyes went blank with distress as she saw Mirkah's face.

The concept of permanent death was not familiar to Halona because she knew that she could always revive someone if she wanted. However, the reek of an anti-resurrection debuff made the situation quite clear — her friend was gone forever and would never come back. She could understand what happened just by sight, though it was too much to take in. So she repeated the words in her mind, as if to console herself.

 _— It's a mistake. He is alive. I can just call his name, and he will answer me._

"M—Mirkah ?"

The gentle, dulcet voice resounded into nothing, and it made the truth even more unbearable. Ironically, Halona had never actually lost anyone close to her since ever she was born — or at least she was too young to remember. It was the first time it ever happened, and it had a strange, destructive effect on her. Should she feel sorrow ? Or maybe pain ? Or should she be angry ?

How should she know, all of it was so confusing.

The only one truth was her friend lying cold in the grass and her helplessness at his side. She knew what his death meant — he must have planned this all along, to forbid her from taking risks because he must have known about the abilities of their opponents — but her spirit wouldn't let her acknowledge reality. It would cause too much damage to her mind.

So Halona just stood there — standing up without blinking.

Out of respect for her pain, the men gathered around stayed silent, even though they were confused. They could see the roller coaster of emotions she was going through — and it was all that mattered. How could they dare interrupt the woman and ask questions ? It was clear that she was in pain, so they could only mourn the loss alongside her. Rude would not be a word powerful enough to qualify the person who would break this sacred silence.

Nevertheless— the sound of the enemy interrupted the silence.

"Ahh~~ ! So this is where you are! You've got to excuse me, but I have to make sure my mission is complete — so you'll all have to die."

The closest soldiers prepared their swords to defend themselves against the sudden appearance of the dark elf — but too late. A single slash of her whip was enough to decapitate them, letting a swear of rage emerge from one of the others.

"You motherfucker ! Where are the others ?!"

"All dead~~ You should know it since you were hiding."

"Liar !"

But it was all the humans could do against their opponent — their strength was too far from equalling that of the girl. They could only face her and die helplessly one by one — yelling in frustration at the absurd force which slaughtered their brothers. One after the other, the soldiers fell at the hand of the dark elf who couldn't be stopped by anyone.

A pool of blood was already rising from the ground, and the painful sight confused Halona even further, but she did not retaliate.

Her mind was too focused on fighting against the unbearable sentiment, which inhibited her true power, and she could not pay attention to anything else. Terror quickly seized the remaining humans, and among the guards, the only one who knew about the Miracle Knight tried to turn to her for help.

"H—Hey, you ! You're strong right ? T—This surely isn't the first time you've lost someone, no ?! So get up, we need you right now !"

It was the tower guard she had met on the wall — but so to speak, his words had fallen on deaf ears. There was nothing to snap her out of her pain. She was entangled in her internal struggle, and the chaos reigned in her mind — like a storm of emotions, that prevented her from thinking. Only a greater stimulus, like the dark elf who beheaded the tower guard, managed to trigger a semblance of a reaction.

"...Hun ?"

The sound made Aura realize her presence, and she instantly recognized Halona from the earlier fight.

"Oh ! You're that human scrub who managed to kill one of Ainz-sama's Death Knight ! And there is the corpse of our target too ! Perfect~~ I had a moment of doubt that my arrow wouldn't have killed him."

She killed the two remainings soldiers with a whip slash and went back to Halona.

"Haaa~ Now, there's no one to bother us. You seem pretty strong, so I want to be sure that no one will interfere."

Halona shifted her attention to the dark elf — but without a great reaction.

She could see that the eyes of the child reflected the profound disinterest in fighting her, but at the same time it was clear that she would value the opportunity for a good fight. That was to say, Aura had no idea of the real strength of the woman in front of her. The slight growl beneath her was proof of her caution — coming from a giant black wolf with bright fur and crimson eyes.

 _**S-So strong... Did Mirkah face her ?**_

"So, are you willing to fight or not ?"

The dark elf was being cautious — but it happened to be useless.

Aura had let her killing intent explode through the roof, and it sucked the last bit of resistance Halona had in her spirit. If she had been in a healthy state, she would have fought the dark elf without fail, but the loss of her friend had weakened her mental and body way more than expected.

The woman just fell — not having the strength to transform into her true self — and provoking an expression of disgust in the eyes of her opponents.

"Eww~ You won't fight back ? — Then, just die."

Aura recited a silent spell before cracking her whip a single time — slamming her opponent into the ground. It was a direct blow from one of the strongest close-range ability of the dark elf — causing a gaping hole to appear on the left side of her target. Blood began spurting out at an alarming pace, and Halona quickly lost her consciousness, choking for air.

The sight of the dark elf was the only thing she had for her last moment.

Halona had let despair settle in her mind, a confusion which nullified the benediction protecting her — and a misstep which caused her death. Of course, she could never have foretold such thing. It was an aberration to even think that an opponent of this power would exist. But now it was too late to consider this. The darkness already enveloped her, and soon, nothing else mattered.

— She was dying.

The dark elf had won this battle, and it was clear that her army would leave no survivors behind — finalizing a harsh blow to the City-States Alliance. In fact, if the fortifications of the frontier were of lower importance, the losses of an essential commander of the Second State alongside the champion of the newest were no matter of laughing. It was inevitable that these actions would have an impact on the Alliance. The Mayors and the Senate would definitively react and take measures against the enemy who had turned his eyes upon them. Would they fight or would they bend the knee ?

It was already decided for them.

From the beginning, their strings had been pulled from behind the scenes by the Sorcerer King who had everything in the palm of his hand.

Eventually, the Karnassus City-States Alliance would fall like the Holy Kingdom and the Empire before them. It was inevitable. However — it was without counting on the name of the Miracle Knight. A name, which was not given to the first commoner. Within herself, Halona held a power which went against common sense. Used correctly, it could make any dreams come true and surpass any odds, even allowing the impossible to become possible. The girl just had to see the possibility, and she could make it true. Which is why her power had been seen as a threat to Nazarick — and which is why the Sorcerer Kingdom had been so careful in dealing with the Alliance.

Soon, the news of her survival would spread throughout the whole kingdom, and a giant wave of complexification would make the Karnassus City-State Alliance tremble. She had made an enemy of the Sorcerer Kingdom, and the Sorcerer Kingdom had made an enemy of her. There was no way she could win, but she was still willing to fight. And for this reason, she had to encounter the wrath of Nazarick.

Because Halona wasn't a godlike being, yet she was still a formidable threat.

* * *

 **Author's words**

This mark the end of the first chapter.

I felt it was necessary to encapsulate all of these things — let's just hope it isn't too dense and too confusing since it's the introduction. I'm giving you a first view of the Sorcerer Kingdom — one which makes you feel almost nothing for the death of a character — only to develop everything later. This way, I want to show the implications which pertain from all the political intrigues played by Nazarick and make you slowly understand what it all meant. Think of it like this: out of the various conquests of the Sorcerer Kingdom — this one is by far the least death-induced of them all, yet, it will have a deeper impact than the others. That is why I believe it will be entertaining — because, this time, it is the after work that will have the most impact, as opposed to the other conquest where it was the political intrigue which had importance. (Don't misunderstand my words, there is still a lot of politics going on, you will have the first glance on Chapter 3)

Next issue will be slower-paced than this one and will present the things that are important to the story (I already introduced the main protagonist, guess who it is). I promise it will be better than this chapter and will put in place the setup of the fanfiction (shit, maybe I should have done this earlier?).

Also, if you would like to proofread my work, please let me know by PM — as I have difficulty to detect the mistakes in my sentence and I never know if a paragraph is too long or too difficult to understand (you may have seen my various mistakes, which is why I reaaaally need an outside glance who tells me what's wrong).

Once again, thank for you reading and for considering following my work — I will try to keep you entertained for as long as you wish.

— Sasugasm

Ps: Please forgive me for any inconsistency with the story. I may have read all the books and make an effort to keep consistency with Maruyama's work — yet I'm not omnipotent. I only read the books and didn't follow the drama CDs. So, it is more than likely that some minor details will trigger you, and it would be kind if you could tell me what mistakes I have made (so I could correct them). Furthermore, this draft has been written months before the release of the 12th book. I tried to make up for it, and add references afterward — but it's far from what I would have done should I have known the story earlier. Please, don't hold it against me :/


	5. Chapter 2 Part 1

**[Fanfiction] Volume 14: The City-State Alliance**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 — Decision**

 **Part 1**

A minute passed — and another.

It continued — reaching an hour.

A day.

Then a month.

— Or maybe was it a year ?

The waiting just went on forever, feeling like an eternity of void and nothingness.

But the light reappeared again.

"[...]"

Halona found herself in a rustic bed with an old man at her side. It seemed like a cozy house, with wooden pillars to hold the roof and stone walls to keep it warm. A modest home for an average citizen. But — as disconcerting as the situation may have been — Halona wasn't bewildered. Quite the opposite, she instantly stood up yelling with a raised fist.

"Where am I ?!"

The old man jumped from his chair, his eyes popping out in confusion.

"Wh— ?! I almost had a heart attack ! Don't frighten me like that and sit down — or you're going to open your wounds !"

Her side ached, but she ignored it. By instinct, the girl wanted to reach the door and leave as early as possible. She tried to walk until the dizziness settled in — making her fall on the ground.

"—Eh ?! *ouch*"

"See ? You are still too weak to move… Don't try the impossible and be thankful to even be alive. It is already a miracle that such wounds could have healed — knowing that your heart has been touched. So, rest for now, and you will do what you have to do later."

The man helped her get back up on the bed while commenting on her circumstance.

"...To be honest, I still can't believe that you managed to survive and be so animated today. I'd gladly pay a fortune to know your secret."

Halona, who was cyclothymic of nature, couldn't help but be distracted by the question — and she answered the old man with a boastful expression.

"Eh eh. It's not a secret — just a resurrection spell combined with a body reincarnation. I'm the only one that can use this trick. Look."

Halona revealed the dark necklace from her neck and showed it to the old man. The latter was dumbfounded both by the extraordinary thing she just said and because he just realized that the jewelry had been here all along — yet it was the first time he remarked it.

"Usually it's blue. It goes dark when it's on cooldown. I think it will stay like this for a moment this time..."

She watched the necklace with a moment of absence and suddenly went back to her worry.

"...But this thing doesn't matter ! Wasn't there anyone else apart from me ?! Like a man in armor ?"

"What ? Uhh… There were plenty of these amongst the plains, but you're the only one who survived."

So her memories held some truth — Mirkah had been killed…

At least she was past most of the shock now, and the confusion had been replaced by a vivid sentiment of anger. Halona furiously clenched her fists as the energy slowly surged up in her legs — and she started furiously searching for something in the room.

"Ah ! Where are my weapons ?! I'm going to seek his body !"

"Please, calm down... Your stuff is right next to you — and by the way, they weren't any weapons among it."

Halona stopped for a second with an air of saying _*oh right, I forgot*_ and returned right away to her hastiness.

"Err— You seem pretty lively for someone who just 'revived' as you say. Perhaps I am the spectator of another miracle of the Miracle Knight. Still, you should forget about your idea… The citizens burned the corpses— they were afraid of potential zombies among them. It's only natural since you've been asleep for over a month."

The woman stopped dead, and she began fighting back the tears which formed under her iris — although keeping a straight and serious face all the while.

"Ughh— All the corpses ?! But why ?!"

"...A lot of things changed when you were asleep. It may be a shock, so please sit down and listen calmly."

"Hngg— I don't care about what changed ! I—I just..."

Halona stopped her sentence midway as a sudden headache made her feel dizzy.

"I think you just need time. I've healed plenty of soldiers like you, and I can recognize a trauma. You need to rest."

"Let me go ! I know I can't make things right but — for Mirkah — I can still blast the Sorcerer Kingdom until there's nothing left of it !"

The stubbornness of the woman suddenly irritated the old man, and he suddenly stopped being kind to violently snub the girl. He was now obstructing the exit — his arms tightly crossed on the front step.

"Don't be silly ! Tell me, what do you plan to do once you're outside ?! Use your powers and reveal to everyone that you are the Bringer of Storm ?"

Halona was about to say "I'll see when I will be here" but she suddenly revisited the thought with an expression of surprise as she started realizing something.

"Hah ! How do you know me, old man ?"

"God, help me… Perhaps you've never seen me, but I know you Halona. I was one of many during the tragedy of Biruhi — when you saved us all. It is something I could never forget."

The old man bowed down and presented himself.

"I was the doctor of the house Hyoki. Waldonus, to serve you."

Halona halted and leaned forward with her eyes wide open.

"Oh ! Now that you say it, I do remember you ! You are Lyashi's friend ? It's been a while. How it is going for you guys ?"

The old man raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of emotion and couldn't help but to answer with a smile.

"Ah ah ah. I do recognize your outgoing attitude now. Well. I'd say that we all are fine — even if it may not be the case for your companions."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Uh ? What do you mean ?"

The man observed her for a few seconds and, conclusions made, he decided to make sign to follow him.

"Umu… Since you are calmer. I guess I can show you — come outside."

"...Okay, I guess ?"

Perplexed, Halona watched the old man take his cane and followed him to the doorstep.

"Oh, I forgot. No matter what you see, do not do anything stupid and keep following me — even if you were to get insulted, or if you were to see frightening things. Is that clear ?"

"Err… Crystal clear. But why it is so ?"

The doctor pondered the reply for a moment and answered Halona with a self-pitying tone.

"It breaks my heart just to think about it… But I believe you have nothing to do with it. Just follow me, and you will understand quickly."

With a confused expression, Halona observed the man leaving the room in silence.

It couldn't be that bad, she thought, or Waldonus would probably look more miserable and bruised — which was far from being the case. Which is why his wariness was intriguing. The curiosity quickly took the place of her anger, and she forgot about her trouble to follow the doctor outside.

A golden glow spread across the sky as the sun chased the dark clouds away.

It was a brisk morning, with very few clouds on the horizon forecasting a distant rain. Halona only made three steps outside that the light already dazzled her — her hands instinctively raising up between the sun and her face. She observed the scenery for a moment and stopped in astonishment — recognizing her surroundings from memories. The surprise had replaced everything else, and Halona couldn't help but express her admiration.

"A-ma-zing !~~ It already changed so much since last time !"

— The fifth City-State, Troya. A masterpiece of architecture and perhaps the most complex City-State of the six Alliance's capitals. It wasn't the best-defended place, but it had the best libraries and an excellent quality of life. The various layouts of residence carved in the hills permitted to give a house for many — and the marble that came from the mines gave an unequaled splendor to the city.

"Eh eh. You already came here ? The citizens boast a lot about the beauty of their city and, on this point, I can relate. A shame that the authorities decided to erect that ugly statue... Anyway. Are you not hungry after your long sleep ?"

Halona shifted her eyes back to the doctor with a regard still full of sparkles.

"Ah ? Uh. No. Don't worry, I don't need to eat. But if you have cakes, I will have one."

"Err... Sorry then. No one is selling cakes around this part of the city so it will be for another time. I take note."

A bit confused by the answer, the doctor decided to continue walking — without going on any further with the questioning.

They went through the paved streets and passed by the various shops which faced the road. Everything was as magnificent as ever — with no signs of attacks nor of destruction. Halona even wondered why the old man had been so dramatic about the situation. It seemed all fine to her, and even better than usual — as if the Sorcerer Kingdom never attacked them on the frontier. The city was animated, the citizens lively while their children ran across the streets — smiles on their faces. Perhaps she could notice some fearful glances here and there — but it was nothing to make a fuss about.

"Mhh ? ( o_o)"

A store caught her attention.

It mainly sold toys made out of wood like dolls, stick-horse or even figurines for young children. One of them had caught Halona's attention, and she couldn't help but approach with a curious attitude.

"Err— Why are you keeping this one ? It's dangerous, you know ?"

The merchant watched his new customer with his eyes wide open.

"Uhm ? Sorry to put it like this, but these are harmless, it's just toys. Here, take a look — the one you're watching is 2 silver coin."

The man presented a piece of his collection to Halona who judged it with a doubtful face.

"Mhh… ( ¬_¬)"

She extended her hand to grab the doll but the doctor interrupted the scene before she could go on with her idea.

"What are you doing, Halona ? You can't buy these, you don't have a single copper coin."

As soon as he heard this, the merchant started to get impatient — going from the thought of a customer to just a situation of annoyance.

"I will be glad to sell you something, young lady, but if you can't pay — I will ask you to go and seek some golds. Understand. I've had too many thieves to trust someone with no coins."

Apparently embarrassed about Halona's attitude, Waldonus apologized before trying to hurry up and leave.

"My apologies, we're leaving at once. There… Come, Halona — don't bother this brave any further."

"Aww… But— this guy has a Mimic, I want to see it closer."

Hearing the sentence, doubt gripped the merchant. His first reaction was to subconsciously put himself on the defensive — both afraid and curious about the statement.

"There's no such creature here ! They've all been killed years ago — and I don't want to remember anything about this story. Your accusations are frightening the passers — so please, leave now."

Halona watched the guy with a questioning face, apparently undecided on what she should do.

"Mhh ? ( ಠ_ಠ)"

Casually, she approached the doll, pressed her palm on its structure and recited a silent ability which made her hands glow.

The doll started vibrating menacingly — shaking the table it sat upon. Both the merchant and the doctor could feel the sudden change in ambiance, and they started freaking out while the light darkened. In an instant, the whole store had gone from an innocent display to the displeasing view of a monster's lair, and it didn't take long before the toy transformed into a deformed monster of 1 meters 50. His large mouth was spitting drops of acid, while his tongue was hanging on the ground — poisonous at a single glance.

"See ? It's a Mimic."

While Halona smiled, the merchant and the doctor began panicking as the monster started fleeing in fear — knowing he had been revealed by a stronger opponent.

"AAAAAHHH ! It's going to eat us ! KILL IT, QUICK !"

"What in the Four Great Gods is this ?!"

Halona watched the reaction of the two men in utter consternation — bringing a hand to her mouth as she recognized her colossal blunder.

 _**Fuck. I probably shouldn't have done that.**_

Willing to atone for her mistake, she quickly approached the monster with a panicked expression.

"S—Sorry for that. [Purification]."

The spell took effect instantly, and the immobile monster faded away in a flock of blue particles — leaving the audience in the shock.

"W—What did you do ?"

Halona scratched her head, ashamed of herself.

"Uh… Sorry. I thought you knew about it. This one was a tortured soul imprisoned in an object — I just purified the negative energy surrounding him and allowed his spirit to join the afterlife. Any caster knows how to do it."

The merchant watched the empty place where the monster stood with his eyes round open — while the doctor, although aware of Halona's true identity, couldn't help but express his sentiment.

"T—That's… Most impressive. And how did you manage to guess it was a monster ?"

"Err— I can see through lesser illusions and deceits, it is an ability I developed when I was younger."

The silence took the place of the shock.

While the doctor observed the scenery with a fascinated expression, the merchant walked toward the empty space — noticing the traces of acid which proved that the monster was still here a minute ago. Slowly understanding what happened, he turned himself, and suddenly peeped at Halona with utter respect.

"You— You saved my life. If you didn't get rid of him now, he would have transformed and eaten me to feed himself."

"Uh… Probably ?"

The woodworker paused a second, thinking of what it all meant. An idea suddenly illumined his face, and he glanced back at Halona with a big smile on his face.

"I know ! Wait here ! I'm coming back in a second."

"Uhm…Err—"

Embarrassed, Halona watched the merchant go as huge drops of sweat formed on her face.

"What's wrong ? You saved that guy, you should be happy."

"But— I promised to Mirkah I would not reveal who I am. What if this guy guesses and repeats to everyone ?"

Waldonus eyes turned round and big before he burst out in laughter.

"Ah ah ah ! You've just defeated a monster, and that is all you can think about ?! Eh eh. You really are special. Don't worry about that, I doubt this guy would want to repeat that he had a Mimic in his shop. And it's impossible that he knows you."

Still unsure, Halona kept a distraught face while waiting for the man to come back. She launched fearful glances, trying to keep a smile while clearly appearing to be agitated.

After a minute, the merchant hurried up at her side — presenting a small talisman of a fine-carved animal to her.

"*pant pant* I—I want to thank you. Take it as a sign of my gratitude. It's one of the finest pieces of my collection, I spent a fortune and all my knowhow to make it."

Halona's face changed to amusement as she blinked fast due to the surprise.

"Oh— Oh oh ! You should have said it earlier ! It got a strange head, it's too funny !"

The woodworker smiled at the sentence — thinking he stroke a good spot — while Waldonus observed in silence.

"Happy that you like it. I worked hard for this one — but the adventurer who ordered it died before withdrawing. I kept it as a treasure until now, but I think it will be better to pass it to you."

"For real ? You're way nicer than what I thought for a grumpy man ! Are you really sure you want to give it ?"

"Of course, of course ! You must be an adventurer, right ? I'm sure you will be able to use it wisely. It got an enchantment to protect you from poison."

Halona took the talisman handed by the merchant and observed it in high spirits.

"Eh eh eh. I like it. I will keep it on my belt and show it to Brokk when I'll see him."

She began attaching the trinket to her belt and went back to the merchant with a beautiful smile of gratitude.

However, as Halona started squinting her eyes in trust — she suddenly froze in position as a nefast presence crept behind them. Her smile was slowly turning back to a regular expression, and her eyebrows frowned in seriousness. With only the sound of a clinking armor, the atmosphere grew cold in an instant — and nor Waldonus, nor the merchant were smiling anymore.

"I—It's nothing, honored guard. My friend helped me kill a monster, she meant no harm to anyone else !"

At the end of the merchant words, Halona slowly turned around to face the new presence, her face now displaying a livid anger. She knew what was behind them. She had already experienced this aura, and the reaction of the merchant only made it more evident. The feeling of wrath slowly built up in her mind as she moved, growing stronger with each second as she painfully twisted her body, and her regard finally landed upon the figure — going through it all once again.

There was a Death Knight in front of the shop.


	6. Chapter 2 Part 2

**[Fanfiction] Volume 14: The City-State Alliance**

It's been a while ! Sorry for the unexpectedly loooong delay, but I promise the chapters will be released more often from now on ! To apologize, here is a longer issue than the others. I tried my best to improve my writing, so I hope you enjoy the story.

* * *

 _I want to thank **nobetteridea** for taking the time __to review the chapter and proofread it thoroughly._

 **Chapter 2 — Decision**

 **Part 2**

The road offered quite the unique view — even for people from the Karnassus City-State Alliance, where demi-humans roamed the cities and could form villages. A lizardman and a dwarf were talking under the rising sun on the road leading to Troya, the fifth City-State. One, a warrior, with a polearm and a war-axe strapped to his back while the other, smaller one, carried a backpack bursting with tools. The lizardman was sturdy and robust, while the dwarf worked hard on cutting a gemstone. At first sight, the two of them looked like ordinary citizens — or more likely adventurers by their equipment. However, they readily distinguished themselves from other demi-humans by the adamantite plaques they displayed at their belts. A sign which proved that they were great adventurers.

"Will Halona _really_ be there ? Knowing her temper, we should already have heard of her by now."

The lizardman kept his straight face while answering his friend.

"It's all we've got, which is already a lot for vague information."

The dwarf changed his expression to a stern face as he stopped focusing on the jewel he was trying to perfect.

"Have a bit of faith ! I can see the doubt in your eyes even without looking at you. Can you stop having these dark thoughts for once ?"

The warrior threw a sidelong glance at his friend, before closing his eyes.

"Mhh, that's a possibility. Remember that I don't believe in miracles — we make our own luck and not the other way around."

"Err— I refuse to believe that she's dead anyway. With all the god's relics she's carrying there's no way she would lose against anyone. That, combined with her innate talent, Halona _has_ to be alive."

"Who knows… I just don't want to see Nine's face if it's not a lie."

An incredulous look replaced the gloomy face of the dwarf, as he turned to his friend. Instinctively, he knew to whom 'Nine' referred, since her name carried a hint toward it — but it wasn't what they would call her usually.

"You're giving nicknames to your friends now ? That's unexpected of Sabaoth, the imperturbable warrior."

As he kept walking with a firm pace, the lizardman thought of his small conversation he's had with 'Nine' and went to reply with a disinterested tone.

"She's the one who asked for this treatment… I must have met her criteria and became strong enough to befriend her."

"Strong enough ? A funny joke when you know to whom you're comparing yourself. Halona and her are stronger than a whole adamantite team united, eh, she's probably just teasing you."

The lizardman kept a vague expression — his mind focused on the distance. It wasn't that he ignored his companion who waited for a reply to his tease, but the silence reigned nonetheless.

As a former bodyguard, Sabaoth had the habit to concentrate both on his escort and on the potential danger that surrounded him — resulting in awkward situations like this. Some would say it was rude, while other would be comforted by the warrior's vigilance, either way, it stayed an invaluable asset for adventurers like them. To have someone staying alert at all times could prove life-saving in a dangerous place, and in this case, it saved them both from a problematic situation.

He abruptly stopped in the middle of the road, stopping his friend with his right arm.

"What are you—"

"Don't talk."

The lizardman instinctively pushed the dwarf to the closest place where they could hide as the latter protested vigorously. He couldn't explain in details and just decided to act quickly to avoid getting into trouble.

"Hng.. Will you—"

"it's the first company."

The dwarf's face changed to an astonishingly grave expression as he understood the situation and painfully tried to regain his balance. Quickly, his face started transpiring with fear as he hid in a fern bush. Turning his attention to the same direction as his friend's, he caught sight of four compelling individuals who looked like they were searching for someone.

"Impossible… What are those guys doing here ?"

His brain operating at full speed to seek out on an answer, he could only think of one reason for their enemies presence.

"...A betrayal ?"

The sharp eye of the lizardman judged the situation with his usual calm and confident attitude. It seemed like he had another idea than the one found by his friend. A smile appeared on his grim face, and he went to contradict his friend.

"I wouldn't bet on that, Brokk. They could be here for someone else — if you understand who I am referring to."

A figure flashed through his mind and stuck to his mouth like a sweet flavor.

"It couldn't be for—"

 _~~ Troya — the fifth City-State ~~_

The Death Knight tried to judge the situation and determine whether he should intervene or not. His orders: keep the peace of the city and eliminate the threats which could hinder the citizens' safety. If he went by this reasoning, using offensive magic outside the designated areas was a crime, and the culprit had to be arrested before harming anyone.

But if he went according to the merchant's words — the young woman meant no violence when using her spell.

The undead had enough intelligence to understand the difference between using magic with the intention of harm or using it in the act of self-defense. If it were only for this, he would have left without further ado — but the woman's eyes were anchored on him with a clear murderous intent reflecting on the surface. It was a sign of rebellion, threatening to himself and the citizens. So — should he attack her ?

"P—Please forgive your humble servants. My friend is not yet used to seeing undead, she is young and does not understand the full meaning of your presence in the city. You have to understand… It's all new for us."

While Waldonus talked, the Death Knight monitored every single movement Halona made — making it ambiguous if he was listening or not. The woman's breath was loud but regular, boiling mad as she observed the undead decide their fates. But even beyond her hatred, she stayed immobile. She had no intention to attack, unless she was to defend herself against the guard. She was aware, that the Death Knight was a summon, and thought it was not worth fighting it. By definition, it was always better to get to the necromancer directly rather than to fight his servants… She wouldn't be stupid enough to trust her other half and let the anger speak when she knew that.

 _*slip*_

After a few seconds, the Death Knight lost all interests and decided to believe the story. He left without saying a word — leaving the three of them behind in a moment of embarrassed silence.

"[...]"

They observed each other, as the danger crept away from them. Apart from Halona, who seemed to be angered by the encounter, their eyes were wide open with fear and unease. It was herself who broke the silence with an enraged expression.

"What is this bastard doing here ?! You know he's from the Sorcerer Kingdom, right ?"

Waldonus kept his head low while the merchant watched Halona with a questioning face.

"Uhhh… You must have been away for weeks, because it's been quite some time since they started patrolling the City-States now. They replaced the guards, and we've never been more prosperous, from what I can remember."

The doctor's eyes crinkled as he heard those words while Halona stayed passive — a bit disturbed by the revelation.

" _Prosperous ?_ You call that prosperous ? We're at the mercy of an undead country that is all ! Who knows when they will decide to kill us all."

Astonished that the old man would get triggered by his explanation — the woodworker crossed his arms and began talking in defense of his conviction.

"Calm down… I'm just stating the truth. We've got plenty materials to work, the crime rate has drastically decreased, and business is as good as never before. I, for one, welcome one or two terrifying guards if they bring us peace. Perhaps this Ainz Ooal Gown would even be a better ruler than our stupid Senate."

The last remark shocked the doctor's anger, and he radically changed his tone to a disdainful one.

"It's stupid. You bring out peace, but have you forgotten what happened last time the humans trusted a Demon God ? Mass murder is what they brought to us."

"Humph. You're listening too much to Mayor Clavo. He's trying to demonize the Sorcerer King for his own ambition — if you want my thoughts... At least our own Mayor can see through it all, unlike some grumpy old man."

Halona watched the two argue in confusion, when Waldonus grabbed her hand to pull her away.

"*grumble* Come Halona, I don't want to argue with this guy anymore. We're leaving."

"Mhh ehm… Sorry, I must go ! It was fun. Thanks for the funny animal, I really like it !"

"Err— a pleasure, you can come back whenever you want. In the meantime, try to get a little bit of common sense into the head of your friend and please be careful — we've been told that there will be a storm next week."

Leaving the shop, the doctor brought Halona toward the street, and they walked for a while. The embarrassment could be felt in the air, as the steps of the later carried a heavy weight.

"...Sorry for what happened in that shop, I guess I owe you an explanation ?"

"I don't really care, but go on."

"Well… In short, we were told that you and General Mirkah tried to attack the Sorcerer Kingdom — and that you died in the resulting battle."

Halona looked the old man right in the eyes, before protesting.

"But that's not true ! They attacked _us_ , not the opposite ! Ahh— !"

Amused that the girl who said she did not care earlier could get aggravated two seconds later, the old man went on with his explanation.

"I know, I know… It's too ridiculous to believe that the General of the Second City-State would attack an unknown country... But, nevertheless, the City-States freaked out about the reprisals, and they negotiated a pact with the Sorcerer King — blaming Mayor Khayyami for sending you two."

He paused, reflecting on what happened in silence.

"...It was then decided to become a vassal-state and pay tribute in exchange for protection and military equipment from the Sorcerer Kingdom. That is why we have undead in the streets— they replaced the human guards to protect us. With luck, you will also see some demi-humans from E-Rantel who have come to work and trade resources with us."

Halona was more and more confused about the situation. She could understand what the old man was saying, but it was fundamentally different from the image she had made of her enemy. The undead race was supposed to hate the livings and kill everyone in its way — but here, they were actually engaging in diplomacy.

"Uggh— B—But apart from what he did to Mirkah, the Sorcerer King seems like a good person, no ? I mean — for an undead."

"...I don't think so. Aside from his envoy Momon, I have seen how the undead proceed when there is a problem — they just kill everyone and continue their walk as if it was nothing."

Waldonus clenched his fist, as he remembered a horrible scene anchored in his mind.

"It's just not a way to deal with a problem… *kss* To think that we could let this happen. If I am correct, the Sorcerer King is just planting his seeds to make the citizens dependent on him. When he decides to take power, there will be only one outcome for us : no one will be able to stop him, and his rule of terror will begin."

Halona watched him with a dumb face, as if she did not understand a word of what he just said.

"I see… Anyway, I can not forgive that dark elf. If I ever see her again, I will definitely show her what it's like, to have your heart pierced."

"Uhm… I don't want to tell you what to do, but I have something else to show you before you try setting off a diplomatic incident."

Waldonus pointed a finger toward a big plaza roamed by many people. It seemed like the most populated area of the whole city, with a large temple overlooking the place and the noise of many discussions which lightened up the mood with their enthusiastic resonance. In Troya, this was called the [Diomea], a place of many whispers where one could get information about the city and the surrounding countries. People often met here, to talk about nothing and everything — discussing the whereabouts of their life, and even seeing to the herald who often came to relay the Senate's decisions.

— But that wasn't everything.

As they entered the area, Halona couldn't help but notice a dozen of high ranked undead posted at strategic points — to protect the city both in term of defense and intimidation. A mighty sight, clearly feeling wrong from any point of view. This sort of scene would usually be seen when an enemy country was occupying another, which wasn't supposed to be the case. The City-States Alliance had become a vassal state of the Sorcerer Kingdom and had kept their independence. So why would the soldiers of a foreign country be protecting another ? Having them around, there, in the midst of a populated area, meant nothing but trouble for the citizens. Still, no one seemed phased by their presence. It seemed as _reasonable_ as ever.

But as wrong as the scene felt, the joyful mood which filled the surrounding area could take any suspicions away.

Brought down by its magic, Halona was already ignoring the glaring danger she was getting into — perhaps even going head first into a trap. She was willing to trust the happy faces of the citizens and to not question whether the gloomy undead were dangerous or not. Looking ahead, she followed her nonchalant friend through the place with curiosity.

As they went through the crowd, people stopped every meter or so — greeting Waldonus and even trying to offer some gifts for a favor. It surprised Halona the first time since she did not know it was a practice in this city, but after ten times or so, it seriously started to get on her nerves. If her friend kept his smile throughout the journey and responded to every last one of the greetings with patience — hers reached its limit quickly. What triggered the last drop was a man approaching them with his face so tired that he looked like he had been fighting a thousand armies.

"If it's not Waldonus. What brings us the honour of your presence in this place ?"

"*grr* Go away ! Can't you tell we are busy ! … Waldonus, can you tell them to leave you alone ? If you keep being gentle, they will keep coming."

The remark wounded the man more than he was letting show and he began retorting vigorously.

"Who do you think you're talking to ? Waldonus is one of our Magistrate's Quintus — only second in power behind the Mayor. Even if the Senate is composed only of citizens, you should show them some respect ! As for myself, you— "

"It's enough, my friend. We're just heading to the Grand Stonepost. Don't mind us."

By the time the man's angry words had reached Halona, he had already returned to an expression of peace in a fraction of seconds.

"Oh— I thought you came here concerning the Dark Hero Momon. Surely, someone must have informed you that he's in the city ?"

Waldonus scratched his chin as the man words caught his attention.

"Interesting indeed, I did not know. What is that hero doing here ?"

"I knew you would appreciate the information. If it were as usual, you would be the one receiving him. But we spared you the trouble, since you wanted to play doctor for a while."

He glanced at Halona in a moment of silence as she still seemed to be confused by the man's words. Then he continued his speech.

"From what I heard, he is traveling for delicate matters. Another maneuver from the First City-State if I'm not wrong — and one that will not benefit us in any way... But I'm glad he's here anyway. The undead can become frightening without anyone to monitor them."

The man caught Halona's attention as well. The tired guy was intently eying her from his position and she suddenly felt unsafe around him — who knows what she actually guessed from this small exchange. She now examined him under every angle possible with a questioning attitude.

"Mhh… Thank you for informing me, my friend. I will ponder this and relay my thoughts to the Senate. In the meantime, I want to meet the Dark Hero — can you give him an invitation to meet at _the_ place ? I will try to get there in the evening."

"Consider it done, you can count on me."

With those words, the man threw a last glance at Halona and disappeared just as fast as he came — leaving her deep in her thoughts. From her face, she seemed more phased about the man's attitude than the Death Knights spread throughout the place. Peering on the side, Waldonus couldn't help but comment on her confused reaction, questioning her about it.

"You seem troubled. Is it because of this place ?"

"Err— the people are just a bit annoying, but this guy is even stranger. How was he able to recognize me ?"

The question was met with a surprised answer.

"W—Wow— That's an impressive intuition. Although, you have no reason to be worried about him, he won't tell anyone. He's my trusted assistant in the Senate — I was the one to tell him who you were."

"If you say so, then it's fine with me... Alsooo— you never told me that you were such an important guy ! When did this happen ?"

"Err— You're talking about my role at the senate ? No one ever told you ? I became Quintus a year ago, so I thought everybody got the news."

A big smile appeared in the corner of Halona's mouth.

"That's great ! I am sure you'll be able to fulfill your dream with this. Lyashi would be proud, I'm sure."

A hint of sadness appeared on the man's face, as he faintly answered.

"Yes, I hope so..."

On this last sentence, he began walking with a sigh — leaving Halona behind with a worried face. She watched his back for a second and followed him in silence. Maybe it was better not to keep talking on this subject.

This time, the citizens seemed to let them pass without annoying Halona — perhaps because of her tantrum from earlier. They walked without any other interruptions and ended up in a unique place which was erected in front of the temple — a giant stone signpost standing above the marble road.

"That's what I wanted you to see. Look."

Curious about it, Halona watched the sign for a second and tried to decrypt what was written before giving up.

"...It's probably important, but I can't read it. Can you explain ?"

Although dumbfounded, that such an individual like the Miracle Knight couldn't read, Waldonus answered the question with a tone that was both surprised and saddened.

"It's a decree from the highest authority in the Alliance, which is the legislative organ responsible for all City-States."

Having stated its origin, Waldonus began reading it out loud.

"[Any survivors of the meaningless battle led by the Miracle Knight and the General Mirkah must be delivered to the authorities — dead or alive. A substantial reward will be given for any information concerning these individuals and offering them refuge is strictly prohibited by law.]"

Halona froze in place as she understood. The rage welled up all over again, as she ground her teeth furiously to calm her instinct.

"A little bit after, there's another thing: [The First Company proved that the Adamantite ranked group 'Thunderbird' was part of the Miracle Knight's deeds. Hence, we order the cessation of their activities, as well as declaring them 'traitors' to the alliance. Two thousand gold coins are offered for their capture.]"

Waldonus paused a moment to catch his breath.

"I won't go further, as the rest is about the measures taken to track you... Do you understand now ? They say it is just retribution for attacking the Sorcerer Kingdom — however — it includes people who weren't even there. It's blindingly obvious that someone is pulling strings behind all that. If you understand — leave the country and go to the east. You can survive if you do."

The girl couldn't take it anymore. Mirkah's death, the Sorcerer Kingdom who took control of her home, or the man-hunting of her friends — she has had enough of it all. With a cry that resonated from her soul, she yelled in injustice from so much misfortune.

"Bullshit ! I'm not leaving !"

Before she could go on with her rage-filled complaint, Waldonus hurried up to stop Halona as the citizens began turning toward her in disdain and fear.

" _*shh shh*_ Calm down ! Do not get carried away. Don't forget what I told you about the undead guards… Please."

With a slight movement, Halona remarked that the closest guards were now turned in her direction — ready to attack. She knew that it would be difficult to fight them all at once, so she calmed down for a little while.

"Hmpf. If they did anything to my friends, I swear to god that I'm going to beat the motherfuckers who did that — whoever he might be !"

Her eyes furiously darted between the citizens — daring anyone to face her.

"In any case, I need to go to Dragonmill and get my weapons. The bastard, who told me he would be _protecting_ us tricked me, he doesn't have the right to keep such powerful items."

She furiously walked away with the doctor following her in dismay. It seemed like she changed her mind at every corner, but Waldonus did not even try to stop her this time. He could easily guess that it was the last straw which broke the camel's back — and could only hope she would not cause too much havoc. But even after withstanding her unstoppable might and making a decision, her steps froze in place — Waldonus seeing her fear for the time of his life.

"Fuck. Not them."

Big drops formed around the old man's face. If the Miracle Knight was afraid of something, you had all the reasons to fear it in your turn. The guards ? No. What was it then ? Waldonus panicked as his eyes jerkily scanned his surroundings, trying to find what it was about.

...

— The First Company.

"Greetings. Can I talk to you two ?"

A shiver went down his spine. The individual who accosted them was none other than Morgana, the most powerful mage of the City-States, capable of using up to fifth tier spells without breaking a sweat. A single flick of her hand and he would be reduced to a pile of ashes. In other words: failure was not an option right now.

"W—Why would the sacred protectors of the City-States have a talk with an old man ?"

The second guy took a step forward with a slight smile. He was both from the Royal Guard and a member of the First Company who gave his life for the country. A legend among the paladins as the first Rune Knight to ever exist, and a fearful opponent if the thought to ever made an enemy of him crossed your mind. Of course — he was a pale reflection of the Dark Knight who became the national hero of the Alliance, but he was a terrifying individual nonetheless.

"Oddly, your friend over here seems familiar to us. We don't know why, but we feel like we should question you two about something. And to be honest, we saw that you had something against what was written on the signpost, so we took that as an excuse to accost you."

Halona was trying to avoid the attention of the two individuals with sweat forming over her face. It did not feel like she was afraid to fight them, but more like she did not want them to recognize her — like two old acquaintances who annoy you and that you want to avoid at all cost.

But for Waldonus, only one question was in his mind — why would those two not recognize the Miracle Knight ?

She was right in front of them, but they were oblivious to her presence. At first, he had thought it was the end when the proud knight had pointed a finger toward Halona — but it seemed they were deceived by some ancient spells. Well— if something was preventing them from recognizing the Miracle Knight, it was quite a powerful ability indeed.

"I—I see. Then, I sincerely hope we can help you clear your doubt."

"It will be quick. We overheard that someone was hiding a fugitive in his house. You wouldn't happen to know something ?"

Halona didn't seem to react to the question, she was turning her back on the two individuals, while Waldonus faced the danger alone.

"To think of it… There is a bandit group that formed at the city's border, maybe they are hiding the person you seek ? There is no better place for someone like that after all."

The sorceress decided to put her hand on the rune knight shoulder, whispering in his ears like a snake.

"The old guards… That could be it."

"Mhh— and what does the girl have to say ? I can't help but feel she knows something. Come on, don't be shy and turn around, we won't bite."

He was apparently talking to Halona who had her back turned to the scene. She could only twist around with an embarrassed expression and answer the knight this time.

"Err— You know… Uhh… Screw it !"

Before the dumbfounded hero could understand the mumbled words, the girl was already running away with Waldonus on her shoulders.

"So fast ! But she does know something. Morgana—"

"I know, I will put a tracker on her. It's not as if we could do anything else with these stupid undead around."

The woman took a scroll from her bag and recited a silent cast from within her mind. It was a rare skill to be able to use magic without speaking the words out loud, and she was very proud to have mastered it, but the result of her action deeply shocked her.

"...Impossible ! A magic barrier of this level ? Who is she ?!"

Keeping his calm, the knight sheathed his sword with confidence. It wasn't like she could escape him, after all.

"Mhh. It doesn't matter, she can't leave the city without us knowing. We'll just wait until then."

Not daring to look back, Halona zigzagged from left to right — dodging the shocked citizens as her friend tried to regain balance on her back. She sat him back in place with a muffled cry in answer and kept rushing through the area. Pushing aside the crowd, she could feel Waldonus struggling to avoid getting hurt as he dodged the obstacle in his way, and finally managed to reach an intersection. She directly took the left alley. At this point, her friend has had enough of this joggle and tried to get down from her shoulder.

" _*mmphh*_ S—Stop ! Enough— let me down…"

She stopped in a dark alley with not a single citizens to spy on them and set her friend down — the latter having difficulty in regaining balance back on the ground.

"Just what went on your head !?"

"I _*uuuh*_ panicked... Sorry." said Halona.

Waldonus watched the girl with an angry look before scolding her.

"Not even the stupidest commoner would have fled in front of those two ! You may as well have told them who you were, it would have caused fewer problems, and you wouldn't have taken me through all this."

Halona was looking down like a child being scolded — a gesture which was clearly not fit for a person of her rank.

"But they didn't follow us, so we're good — no ? ..."

"That's not … !"

Instead of keeping on with the debate, Waldonus' eyes darted on the back of the alley with surprise.

"Oh no—"

Three men blocked their path, and from their expression, they could not possibly be up to any good. Halona, however, did not sense the evil intent and she seemed more annoyed than repulsed by their presence.

"Hun ? We are not in the mood to help you. Go away, we're busy."

The bigger one smiled as an answer — as if to mock Halona.

"Oh— But you will help us, willingly or not. Because we know that you are a fugitive — miss survivor."

Her anger went up another degree, and Halona clenched her fists so hard, that they began emitting heat.

"Get away you—"

 _**Halona, no. Don't get into any more trouble.**_

Getting stopped in her momentum, and after a painful struggle, Halona finally made a movement throughout the air to signify she was accepting the dialog.

"Fine ! What do you want ?!"

"Ah ah ah ! She's asking what we want ! Zachery — answer the young lady."

A man with damaged teeth advanced to meet Halona — a sight disgusting enough to draw an expression of disgust on her face.

"We only came for you, lady ! D' you know who we are ? The ancient guards — yes ! And we're gonna make your life a livin' hell. Eh eh. Because of you, we've been demoted to nothing more than citizens — it's painful, y'know."

"Exactly ! And since we can't kill your dear Miracle Knight, you will kindly become our scapegoat, understood ? We know that your friend over here brought your body to his house, and we patiently waited for you to get back up so we could get our revenge. Since we did not denounce the both of you, you should thank us !"

Finally understanding what it was all about, Halona opened her eyes in dismay before closing them in an attempt to relax her nerves. She could sense her panicking friend at her side and the truth in the bandit's word. But as displeased as she was, she had made a promise and would keep it. Thus, she remained silent and began walking — having lost interest in the three men.

"Nonsense — if I can't hit you because of the undead guards around, you can't hit me either."

"You think we came unprepared ? We had plenty of time to arrange this meeting. Remember this. We're awaiting you outside the city, at the edge of the woods, where the denizens of the Sorcerer Kingdom can't reach us. I am certain you will come after seeing what we have done."

After he finished his sentence, a sudden shock hit Halona's entire body — like an electrocution from a thunder spell. She just had enough time to understand that it came from an enchanted dart, that the three men had already vanished after using a trick-spell on her — making half her clothes disappear together with the trinket the merchant gave her.

"THOSE BASTARDS ! Who the hell uses this sort of magic ?!"

Waldonus was at her side, both confused and alarmed about what just happened.

"Uhh… W—What just happened ? And why are you half-naked ?"

The so-proud Miracle Knight grumbled before answering the question.

"There was a hidden guy who used dozens of redundant magic scrolls when I had my back turned — he managed to steal my things. I didn't have the time to cast a protective spell, and since Morgana triggered my magic nullifying ring, he managed to take almost everything, including the cool animal that the merchant gave me. Ahh— fuck !"

" _*cough cough*_ I see. Here, take this to cover yourself."

Waldonus handed his back-coat to Halona, who angrily grabbed it.

" _*grumble*_ Who the hell were those pricks ?"

"...Bandits, if I am correct. They were once soldiers — until the nobles disposed of them when the undead came... They couldn't find work, so they headed up on the wrong path and ended up forming a group of outlaws. It must have been quite frustrating, so they most likely directed their anger against who they thought to be an easy target — you."

While putting on Waldonus' coat, Halona reflected on the situation with her breathing calming down a little bit.

"...By the way, old man. About that message in the plaza. Did you really go against the law to rescue me ?"

The doctor watched her for a second and is eyes turned up with a flame in them she had not seen before.

"Stupid question — of course, I did. Last time, you were the one breaking the rules to save us from the epidemic, so it is only natural that we would do the same for you."

"...I see."

She paused a moment, reflecting on the more profound sense of this gesture.

"Old man. You're probably hoping that I will fight against the Sorcerer Kingdom and return everything back to normal, but don't raise your hope too high. The dark elf of the Sorcerer Kingdom — she's frighteningly powerful. I just can't see myself win against her in a fair duel, and that's without counting the two monsters who followed her. The idea to face them frightens me the most… It keeps following me and I can't shake the fear out of my body."

A cold wind blew past the two in the slight moment of silence. The doctor was watching Halona with a dumbfounded face as he could not believe that the Miracle Knight hesitated.

"...That's why I don't want you to suffer because of me. You have a good life in this city, it's not the same as it was in Biruhi. So don't throw it away for me."

An air of comprehension came upon his face as he heard the last sentence.

"Oh. That's what it was about... Don't worry about me, I still have a trick up my sleeve. Do you think I would set up a meeting with Momon, the adventurer, to talk about tea and biscuits ? I hoped that you would come with me, and potentially gain a powerful ally — I've heard stories of how he defied the Sorcerer King."

"...Well maybe it would be a good idea to meet that guy. But before you go on, I have something to tell you... Those annoying guys were coming directly from your home — they had the same dust on their clothes."

Waldonus started panicking as he heard the words.

"W—What could they do in my house ? There are still the undead guards."

"I don't know, but I will go with you."

The face of the old man became whiter and whiter as he started running toward his house.

 _No no no no no. They can't… The guards wouldn't let anyone._

In panic, he rushed as if his life depended on the outcome, while Halona followed him in silence with a saddened expression. If those bandits could afford magic scrolls, they surely knew how to fool the undead guards. If they came from Waldonus' house, they would not have left it intact...

After running for a good minute, they eventually reached the old man's house at the end of a frantic race. The doctor observed the scene for a second and then collapsed — mentally breaking down at the sight.

"No… It can't be…"

The front door had been forced open, and the inside had been completely destroyed from end to end. Some of the furniture was still burning in the fireplace while the rest had simply vanished — leaving an empty feeling to the house. With a big hole in the roof, the building didn't feel like a home anymore. It was a ruin, nothing more — uninhabitable by nature. On the door, carved letters which revealed the culprits :

[YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND US]

"[...]"

Halona watched the old man break down in tears as he hugged himself in distress.

"My manuscripts, the relics of the past, my research… An entire life of work— all gone..."

The sight frustrated her so much that she clicked her tongue in anger — thinking how what she could do to relieve this anger.

" _*kss*_ Old man, I apologize, but I can't stay passive anymore. I'm going to the bandit headquarters, and I'm beating the shit out of everyone. Don't try to stop me, I've made my decision. I need to pass my nerves on something."

Waldonus turned his reddened eyes to Halona, as she began walking in silence — the gesture meaning much more than just a reckoning for him. In one last movement, Halona smiled at the old man before trying to soothe his pain with kind words.

"I promise that I will bring back a solution, just wait for me, old man."

With those words, she left and disappeared from view in an instant — gone to meet with the bandits. At the moment, Halona did not let her wrath show, but she was furious about the situation. The whole day, she had permitted the world to humiliate her without fighting back, but this was too much. Be it the Sorcerer Kingdom, or a simple bandit group — she could not stay passive when someone suffered right in front of her.

Her meeting with the Dark Hero would have to wait — it was payback time now.


	7. Chapter 2 Part 3

**[Fanfiction] Volume 14: The City-State Alliance**

I know this has been a long time, sorry for the delay for those who followed the story. I will try my best to make the wait worth it by paying back with high-quality content, and there are three more issues ready if I can't manage the high-quality. What I can promise is that things will get truly better in Chapter 3, where the _real_ story begins.

* * *

 _A big thank you to **nobetteridea** who took a lot of his time to __proofread this chapter, and make it better for all of us._

 **Chapter 2 — Decision**

 **Part 3**

The wind blew through the forest as the fir trees sung their peaceful song. From just the slight disturbance, water droplets fell through the faint glow of the sun as the smell of rain filled the air. It was a calm and soothing scene — asking only for one thing: to remain peaceful and undisturbed by the rest of the world. If the dense vegetation stayed untouched for a hundred years, it would surely be for the best.

Yet — disturbing the sacred scene, a boar-like mammal silently crawled through the vegetation in his search for food. It was an odd species, with a double pair of tusks, pronounced canine teeth and a giant fur-beard that decorated his face. Ironically, people called it a 'moose-boar' due to its resemblance to both moose and boar, which wasn't a usurped name. Standing proud, this one was at least the size of a horse, making for an impressive beast with its hoofs imprinting the ground at every step. Sniffing the ferns, it was on alert for the slightest sound that could perturb the calm of the woods.

Oh — it was afraid. Frightened by what lived in the ever so quiet place.

If the woods had remained untouched for so long, it was for a good reason. Calling it coincidence was just a sad excuse when, in fact, it had a more profound, darker logic behind it.

The moose-boar was very well aware of this 'dark side'.

Every step of his was carefully measured to make as little noise as possible, and his nose was vigorously sniffing for the slightest scent. His senses were on full alert and his body ready to run at full speed, should the danger appear. All of this, just for having access to this luxuriant part of the forest.

And, this, would be the last decision the animal would ever make.

Out of nowhere, a bug-like creature jumped from a tree, dropped onto the boar and clung to its back like a spider. Its hook-like legs made it impossible for animals to get rid of it, and anyone who had already encountered them knew they meant certain death. Only one eye, a body of the size of a crow, and a humongous sting hidden by a black shell — this species of beetles was the sole reason for the quietness of the whole forest. The moose-boar realized it too, resulting in high-pitched, piercing cries as he desperately tried to get rid of it. But the black insect still clung to its prey despite the rodeo performed by the animal, and he casually showed off his dart.

A single fulgurant pain silenced the beast.

The strength was leaving him instantaneously as the poison spread to its heart in the blink of an eye. The moose-boar only made one step after being stung, then he directly collapsed on the ground, a muffled sound propagating through the forest. He died on the spur of the moment... With his fall, a swarm of the black insects revealed themselves and clung to the dead boar like raptors whose preys had been served.

— They were _eating_ it.

Their stings were planted in the boar and pumping some substance from it — illumining the inner vessel with a radiant blue light. Born from the magic, a single one of their stings could kill a troll within a minute. The magical poison directly attacked the brain and provoked hallucinations to the one stung — causing the victims to live a made-up fantasy for the last seconds of their life. With the natural camouflage given by their black shell, those beetles hid in the trees in waiting for prey and attacked any passing animal that would cross their way. With this method, they would produce thousands of lifeless corpses and then drain the mana that remained in them.

That is why this place looked so natural — and why the humans avoided the woods.

Knowing the danger of only one of the black creatures, the City-State Alliance had prohibited entering the woods and barely even sent patrols to check the wildlife. As creatures who had a higher mana pool than the common animals living here, a citizen would definitely make a delicious feast for the evil little bugs. The prohibited access was meant to avoid these unnecessary victims.

 _*crack*_

The black insects feasting on the dead moose-boar suddenly panicked. As aggressive and dangerous as they could be, they still knew fear. Their affinity towards magic permitted them to _feel_ what approached and they knew it was far too much for them to take on. Even high-tier magic creatures like themselves followed the law of the jungle. When they killed an animal, they would feast on its corpse as fast as possible, consuming as much mana as they could and fled at the approach of a potent enemy like this one. Their best option for survival, in this case, was to hide in the closest trees and wait for it to pass — whether their prey was stolen or not.

" _grumble*_ The _'edge of the woods'_ is not enough to find anything, you assholes… Just crossing it would take me a day. I could search for another hour and never discover their bloody hideout — goddamnit."

Standing there with her hands on her hips — it was Halona. Her rant went on for quite some time as she kicked a stone here and there. It wasn't that the woods frightened her, but that her frustration was growing more and more as she wandered around without making any kind of progress. She was aware of the black insects hiding in the nearest trees thanks to her godlike perception skill that she acquired through years of training — but when it came to tracking an enemy, the Miracle Knight was the embodiment of incompetence.

Nonetheless, that did not lessen her determination to find her own prey — the bandits.

She took another step, a dead branch cracking under her weight, and — as if something had gone wrong — stopped abruptly.

The woods, supposedly so calm, were carrying unusual sounds to her ears — sounds of clashing metal if she was not mistaken. Her expression changed to a smile of excitement and she began rubbing her hands together.

Who could make sounds of clashing metals ? Humans for sure —

Without a second thought, she ran head first toward the noise with an overwhelming emotion of anticipation replacing her frustration — she had finally found what she was looking for.

— However, the scene she came upon was confusing.

A lizardman intimidating a group of three beaten up men lying on the ground — one figure hiding in his shadow. From one glance you could tell what had happened — they had had an argument, that had turned into a fight, which the lizardman had won. The blood from their small bout could be seen on the soil, and there was no doubt that they had fought each other just a minute ago, because, of the three bandits, only one was still conscious.

 _**Wh—Who the hell are you ?! Y—You monster !**_

 _**Stay quiet and answer my questions.**_

One would usually wonder what must have happened to push them to fight each other, but for Halona, there was only one real question :

"W—What are you doing here, Sabaoth ?"

The hand of the lizardman came to an abrupt halt as he was about to grab the bandit's collar. Halona's sudden appearance made the disinterested look on the lizardman's face rapidly change to an expression of slight astonishment — which was rare to see on this one's face.

"Halona."

His hope growing, the beaten up man decided to try his luck with the woman that had appeared out of thin air.

"Y—You ! Help me, plea— _*ouch*_ "

"Shut up. I did not allow you to talk yet."

The ruckus caused a dwarf to pop out from behind the warrior and turn his head to the newcomer— becoming just as surprised as his comrade.

"Noo— incredible… It really is her !"

Soon, everything went quiet. The three of them were staring at each other — immobile. No one was moving a muscle.

Was it a happy reunion, or would they jump at each other throats ?

There was no way to tell.

The one thing you could be sure of was that their encounter had profound implications — it was almost as if they were communicating with each other by staying mute. Even though they kept perfect deadpan expressions, you could nonetheless tell that they understood each other in this one moment.

Wanting to end the awkward silence, the dwarf coughed.

The lizardman closed his eyes and opened them again with his expression changing to sorrow. Following the gesture, he went to grab something from his pocket and tossed a metallic object to Halona who caught it with a smooth gesture.

It was an Adamantite plaque.

Her plaque.

She held it with both hands and looked at it for a second. Her pale face was reflected back at her by the blue surface of the metal, and for some reasons, just the look of it made her sad. She knew the meaning behind the gesture, and couldn't help but to finally break the silence.

"It didn't work out, did it ?…"

The lizardman turned his eyes to the cloudy sky, keeping a straight and rigid posture.

"We all agreed even knowing the consequences. It won't change what happened. But it doesn't mean you have to be alone — come back with us."

From the look of it, Halona looked like she was about to cry any second. She was looking at the ground with an expression of defeat, and her arms struggling to hold her own Adamantite Plaque.

"Guys, I'm sorry… I'm so sorry. I let them kill Mirkah right in front of me without even trying to defend him It was pathetic — I didn't do anything apart from getting my ass kicked… There is no way I can ask you to follow me after that."

The lizardman sighed. With firm determination, he took a step forward and slapped Halona's head with his left hand as if he had planned to do that all along. She looked back at him with a look of surprise and confusion on her face, as though she had been grievously wounded.

"I don't care about that. We didn't come so you could whine — we came for you. I won't just leave because _you_ think you are unworthy of us."

Halona broke down into tears.

" _*buhhuuuhhu*_ B—But…. We will never see Mirkah again because of me ! _*sniff*_ I—I failed you all. How could I stay with you after that ?"

The lizardman immediately karate-chopped her on the head a second time — tear-filled eyes looking back at him.

"We don't have the time to lose ourselves in meaningless debates. We need you to make a decision, Halona. You must move on. As our leader, it is your duty — you must have the strength to surpass this trial."

Seeing that the situation was taking a turn, the dwarf took a step forward with his hand raised up — as if to stop his friend from quarreling any longer.

"Oyy— calm down, calm down… That's a bit exaggerated to force her as we just—"

The sound of a tail striking the floor cut off the dwarf's word like a sharp knife. The lizardman was very clear on his intent, and he wouldn't let his friend interrupt him.

"Are you embarking on it, Halona ? The path of revenge ?"

Halona looked back at the proud warrior with a dumb face. Her sobs had stopped, and she was staring blankly into his eyes like a child whose sadness was challenged. The bloodsoaked history of the lizardman was flashing through her mind — a clash of the past, and _her_ _future_.

Revenge ?

Yes… She was thinking about it. But from the mouth of her friend, the word crumbled down to ashes.

The lizardman who had sought vengeance against a whole country — and the same warrior that she had managed to befriend — he who had only the word _revenge_ in his mind for so long, was asking her if she would make the same mistake as himself. That alone made her reflect on herself, and what would happen if she went down that path. She knew the answer… Halona had given the same speech to Sabaoth in the past.

"T—This is a bad idea... You, more than anyone, know it — so why would you ask ?"

The lizardman tightly crossed his arms as he looked down on the terrified bandit at his feet with a menacing glance. He answered with his voice carrying a hint of anger and determination.

"Because I know how it feels — to have so much hatred within your heart. That's why I won't stop you if you go for it, but I want you to know that no matter the decision, we will follow you."

Halona stopped to think about her friend's word.

… _My decision ? It's obvious._

"I just want to get back together with you guys and explore new lands like we used to. That didn't change from before."

Getting to the point, the lizardman replied with a tone that showed neither shock nor sadness.

"Are you saying you would leave the City-States ?"

"...W—Well. It was a great time, I met fantastic friends and really enjoyed it. But now, I feel like my every step is a crime. If I were to make a decision: it is that I just don't care anymore — I'm sick of trying to please the shitty lords of this country who care for nothing, but the advancement of their own goals. I want to be an adventurer once more, and do what the hell I want. That is all."

The strict expression her friend had show up to now turned into a smile, showing his sharpened teeth to his surroundings.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear ! Of course I will come along, and I think everyone else will agree with me !"

Halona watched her friend with a shocked expression. She had thought he would hit her a third time, and she had even prepared herself to receive a harsh scolding — but the reaction was quite the opposite instead.

"Uhhh ?! You're still coming, even though I want to leave everything behind !?"

This time, it was the dwarf who confirmed her guess. He seemed proud of his choice, like the lizardman before him, and didn't hesitate to seek with a firm tone.

"Who do you think we are ? You are our leader, and we have absolute faith in you, Halona. Just tell us where you want to go, and we will follow you."

A surge of emotion ran through her body as she looked at her friend with thankful eyes. Yes— that was what she wanted to hear. That she wasn't wrong and could count on her friends anytime, that she could live the way she wanted.

Reassured, that her thoughts weren't as selfish as she thought, Halona's gleaming eyes spoke in her place as she uttered the next words.

"I want to go to the Sorcerer Kingdom, then ! It excites and frightens me at the same time — I can't think of a better place. Imagine what we can find there ! All the things we could discover !"

The lizardman laughed as if he had anticipated the answer.

"Ah ha ah ! I would have bet my life on your answer. Then so be it, I will gladly travel to the country that managed to get the better of you. And if we have to die here, then so be it."

Next to them, the dwarf was holding his head in distress, with his eyes wide open. Just after he had told her to choose any destination she wanted — Halona had picked the worst one possible— and he already regretted his decision.

"Wow—ow—ow ! Are you joking ?! It's an undead country we're talking about — the one that killed our friend, turned us into their enemy and created all these crazy monsters. The world is not _that easy_ , Halona. We would need a lot of luck to even see the shadow of its border !"

" _Luck ?_ If it's that's all we need, we're good. Brokk, aren't we following the one named _Miracle_ Knight ?" retorted the lizardman.

At the mention of Halona's true nature, the bandit on the ground became agitated — as he was starting to understand who his opponents were. He has had concern for his safety all along, but the last sentence proved his worries.

The lizardman could be none other than Sabaoth from Thunderbird — a fearful warrior whose hatred of humans was legendary. As for the other, he was also part of the same adamantite group — a famous dwarf, whose ingenious mind served many causes throughout the City-States. He, himself, was using one of his inventions to survive in the dangerous forest. His sight stopped on Brokk who had stopped complaining. It seemed like the dwarf had managed to understand the subtle hint hidden in the sentence with a defeated face — while Halona laughed.

"That's madness… You're completely crazy. Do we at least have backup ? Something to guarantee our protection ? You two might be monsters, Lyashi and I will get annihilated by the first encounter. Teamwork isn't everything, you know..."

Halona stopped laughing and brought a finger to her mouth — looking up in thought.

"Mhh— actually I may have something ."

Brokk looked back at Halona with a surprised expression — as if it was impossible for those words to have come from his friend's mouth.

"I was going to meet a guy who's faced the Sorcerer Kingdom. _'Momo'_ or something like that. At first, I wanted to see him out of curiosity — but you can come to convince him to get a safe way in."

"You mean Momon from Darkness ?! In—Incredible ! To think you'd plan out something of the sort — what did they do to you on the battlefield ? A—Are you sure you're alright ?"

"Hey ! Quit making fun of me ! It's a friend of Lyashi who had this idea."

Brokk exchanged a glance with his friend — and looked back at Halona.

"Sorry, I was just teasing you... By the way, what were you doing in the woods ? Don't tell me these stupid bandits caught you !"

Halona puffed her cheeks.

"Humphh ! It's not like those toddlers could harm me ! They insulted me and destroyed my friend's house. The truth is that I came to beat the fuck out of them — and got lost…"

Sabaoth grinned as he understood the situation. He was most pleased with Halona's plan, and started stretching his arms to prepare himself.

"I see. I will be glad to help you defeat those weaklings, it will be a perfect warm-up."

The bandit on the ground panicked, knowing that he was going to be their next center of attention. He tried to find the best words to get out of this tricky situation, but nothing useful left his lips.

"Y—You're the survivor that the Quintus brought to his house ! P—Please spare me ! I was against the idea of tormenting you, I promise. No one knew you were the Miracle Knight."

Disturbed in his stretching, Sabaoth looked down at the man with a disgusted look. He had already thought of a way to use the guy and smiled internally as he teased him.

"You want to redeem yourself, little ape ? To me, you only have one purpose now. Welcome to your new job: _a decoy_."


	8. Chapter 2 Part 4

**[Fanfiction] Volume 14: The City-State Alliance**

* * *

 _As always, gratitude to **nobetteridea** without whom this chapter would never have been as good as it is now._

 **Chapter 2 — Decision**

 **Part 4**

A ranger looked down on a piece of paper — brought to him by a crow just now. At one glance you could tell that he was the chieftain, the kind of man you'd remember without difficulty. Grace, confidence, or even charisma, the man had it all. Standing up from his chair, he seemed excited, and suddenly he yelled throughout the room.

"Listen to this, guys ! The target took our bait on the first try — she surrendered herself right away. Ah ha ah ! To celebrate— you all can choose a drink from the supply, I will make an exception for today."

Standing on a mezzanine, he looked down on the room which was slowly filling with the cheers of his subordinates. The joyful mood spread, and his men laughed as they took a drink in his name _._ The leader grinned. Looking back, their small group had quickly grown during the past weeks, with more and more soldiers being let go by their employers. They should be close to three hundred by now. If this went on, he would have to expand their headquarters sooner than expected and think of a new way to organize everything, which was good for his business. Soon, the Alliance would sincerely regret treating his men like objects, using them in battle then throwing them out like trash on the streets.

 _I will stir the resentment against the Alliance, and use that to found a new country. The girl is just a means to an end. I know I can do it._

A knight clad in full-body armor approached him — one of his most loyal followers, and also the former captain of the guards in Troya. He was coming over to talk, his round face genuinely smiling.

"Everything's working out as planned, eh ? As one would expect from our leader. But, what's next ? Capturing a survivor from _the battle that caused it all_ diverges from our true objective..."

He observed the man's expression with sharp eyes — his subordinate was genuinely concerned about the woman's fate.

"The girl is here for the boost in morale. As soon as we have finished with her, I will use her to gain an audience with our informant. We will attack by then, and execute our plan."

"Mhh… You seem to have planned it all out. I trust you, my friend, may you lead us to victory."

Willing to celebrate his easy victory, the chieftain took a glass of wine and swallowed its content in one gulp. Usually, he would let himself get carried away and drink with his men — but now was not the time. The possibilities created by the woman's early capture were so numerous that he couldn't get himself to think of anything other than his plans for the future. He sat down comfortably in his chair and started thinking of what they could do.

 _*ding ding ding*_

Already ?

The sound of the bells announced the return of a patrol, and since the others were not expected before nightfall, it could be none other than his subordinates bringing in his prisoner. These guys had been fast, considering the area they had been sent to… According to his calculations, it should have taken them an hour to get back. But it didn't matter either way. Sooner or later, it was all the same… they probably got overly excited by the reward awaiting them and pressed the pace.

He quickly glanced to the side to ensure his men followed the protocol and that the security of the place was assured. One of the Bartapas brothers was already climbing to his position, while his loyal knight moved to his right flank — a drowsy mage on the other.

 _Good. Let's hear what our prisoner has to say._

There were only two people approaching. The man in charge of the patrol — and the girl. This simple fact made him doubt his earlier conclusion for a second, and he asked out of curiosity.

"Where are your companions ?"

The guy was acting oddly, glancing at the woman on his right, before answering with drops of sweat dripping from his face.

"D—Dead. We got attacked by a swarm of Devil Beetles."

 _He's afraid that I'd hold him accountable for his comrades' death… These underlings are way too easy to manipulate._

The chieftain closed his eyes, as if to mourn the loss of two of his men, and went to reassure his subordinate.

"That's a harsh blow for us, after we prepared so much to face those creatures… It must have been horrible for you. But don't worry my friend, we will reinforce our countermeasures and lead an expedition in honor of our fallen comrades. Rest in the upper suite for now, you've deserved it."

"Th—Thank you, leader !"

His attention turned to the girl. It was hard for him to read her. Was she afraid ? No— sad ? Her face was reddened, but it could be from being in front of so many people. Intimidated ? Yes, that must be it. How could you not be intimidated, when faced with so many trained soldiers.

"Welcome to our headquarters, young lady. Don't be shy, and explain to everyone why you came."

The woman watched her observant audience while answering. The chieftain almost instantly guessed her intention… She was trying to discern possible ways to escape his grip. What a futile effort, he thought. He had everything in place already — the slightest sign of resistance, and one of her legs would be cut off.

"I surrendered myself in exchange for gold — for the house of the old man you destroyed."

The chieftain watched her for a second before bursting into laughter. The whole room followed him, causing the woman to furrow her brow in anger. Out of all the possibilities he had thought of, gold was the first one that he had considered. She was too predictable; it was almost boring to deal with her.

"Ah ha ah ! Poor girl — but that won't be possible. Because we don't have any gold here. Our wealth consists of our equipment and the size of our food supply. Too bad, you surrendered for nothing."

While the audience was doing its part getting on woman's nerves, his loyal knight took a step forward as he noticed something odd.

 _**Why is the girl not bound ?**_

Surprised, the chieftain made a quick sign for his subordinate to grab a rope and constrain the girl. He was angry, and looked at the patrol responsible for bringing the girl unrestrained with a dark glance. That guy would receive a rash scolding from him later. If he had to damage his precious prisoner because of this mistake, he would find a punishment worthy of the name.

Although — it seemed unnecessary.

The girl allowed herself to be restrained without objection, even though she had just been refused her part of the deal, and instead went on to negotiate with a smile on her face.

"You're lying. I know you have plenty of gold. You can give my friend some of it."

His lieutenant, who had been mingled among his men until then, took a step forward and violently struck the girl across her chest. He was drunk, and wasn't following the protocol, as always… But at least he was respecting the basic rules and had his spear strapped to his back — which was the very least given his authority in the organisation.

"Shut up ! We're the ones giving the orders !"

The woman did not budge from the impact and instead put her hair back in place with a motion of her head; a smile on her face as the crowd made fun of her.

"Hmph."

"Enough, my brother. I still have things to talk about with her. For example, her reason for saying such a thing. I'm quite curious about it."

"I simply sensed a magic seal on the other side of this room. Since you were giving of the stench of lies, there's obviously gold hidden behind it" she swiftly answered.

At this answer the eyes of the chieftain were tainted by a menacing glance.

 _How would she guess that ? Is she trying to bluff me ?_

Silently, he gave his trusted mage a sign to go and check her for traces of magic. The woman to whom he entrusted the task was talented, and would surely catch any hints pointing toward the usage of magic. He had to be sure the girl was just lucky about her guess and that she was not baiting him. The game he now played with the Alliance had much higher stakes and he knew they'd eventually get to him. That's why he had to be cautious.

"What if it was true ? Would you get mad ? That wouldn't change a thing about your situation, would it ? It's not like you are in a position to negotiate. If I wanted to kill you, I could do it right now."

The woman stayed impassive as the mage approached her.

"Err— I don't get it. Are you saying that I won't get anything, no matter what I say ?"

The chieftain smiled, as if the words had been stolen from his mouth. Was the girl trying to bluff by sounding threatening ? It was a lost cause, then.

"You are beginning to understand, that's good. Just so you know — a negotiation can only come to pass between equals, which is not the case here, since you surrendered. You aren't in the position to ask for anything, and won't be given a crumb of gold. That's how the world works, lady."

The girl silently watched the mage that was about to probe her magical potential and went to answer quietly.

"I see… That's how it is — you're jerks."

In an instant, the leader's anger boiled over. That was only natural. He was the lord of this land. What kind of ruler would let someone insult him or his men ? He rose from his seat and menacingly waved his hand toward the girl.

"You are going too far ! You are a mere prisoner ! Know your place ! Do you think we are merciful enough to let you say anything you want ? Just so we all know who you are before sending you down into your cell — what is your glorious name, young lady ?"

As the chieftain finished his sentence, the mage had reached Halona and pressed her hand on her back — an expression of astonishment slowly forming on her face.

"Wh—What is this—"

Before the woman could go on, Halona broke free from her weak constraints and pressed her hand against the mages' chest. A loud crack resonated in the room as the silence fell upon the bandits.

"I do not like this name, but I will tell you anyway."

She paused for a moment and stared into the leader's eyes.

"I'm the Bringer of Storm, and I've come to bring you down."

Shortly after the dumbfounded audience had caught up with what Halona just said — two words of power echoed.

"[Palm Shockwave]."

With a loud hitting noise, the initial impact sent the mage flying across the room and kicked over the mezzanine where the leader stood — destroying it instantly. That should have been all — for an ability of this level. But, it was far from over. Only the girl's full mastery of the monk's way made it a technique with such brute power output. In truth, the most terrifying potential came from the shockwave, released by the magical power infused in the palm. It imbued the air with thousands of magic shards that could cause internal damage to every living being in its area of effect.

As a reaction to the shockwave, the room's calm air turned into destructive winds.

It was like a cyclone had formed directly inside the room — a tempest propagating in a fraction of a second and stirring everything up in its way. The frenzy found its way straight to the wall with a deafening impact, spreading through all the men watching and causing lethal damage to everything it touched. One by one, the bandits fell down without a single cry — some vomiting blood, others staring into nothingness with empty eyes as dust filled the room.

At the end, only one figure was left standing — the shadow of the woman whose hand was glowing.

"That was for Waldonus."

Everything but the woman's silhouette had vanished from the leader's mind. It was the only thing he could see — an incredibly dominant being teasing him from all its height, and whose power could not reasonably be expressed in words. At a glance he could tell that his best subordinates had vanished into nothingness — the same soldiers who were equivalent to mythril ranked adventurers, and who so many times had fought against monsters who defied reason.

"H—How ?! _*urrgh*_ What did you do ?!"

This made no sense.

There _had_ to be a trick.

No one was strong enough to knock down an entire group of hundred soldiers with a single attack. Even if the woman wasn't lying about her identity — even if she was the Miracle Knight as she pretended to be — it was impossible.

"Nothing special… I amplified the magic damage taken on as much people as I could and used a [Soul Link] on the strongest ones — so that they would share damage with everyone in the room. After that, a third tier area of effect attack was enough to knock them all out. It was your fault for gathering everyone in a closed space."

"Wh—What ?"

The chieftain looked at the woman in confusion. Those were just weak abilities — no big deal for an elite soldier like him.

Did that mean she lied ?

Maybe she did not tell him about everything, or perhaps she had magic items to make her abilities more powerful. But even so, when did she have the time to prepare such an attack ? And why he was the only one conscious ? There were too many unknown factors to explain such a destructive attack.

"...That can't be. You're lying."

" _*sigh*_ It's simple really. Some of the damage that I dealt to everyone in this room has been redistributed to everyone under the [Soul Link]. Imagine if I threw a rock at you, you wouldn't die. But if I threw two hundred — that would be a totally different matter. The rest was about finding the best angle to launch my rock, setting up the links beforehand and amplifying the damage done to the toughest ones who could survive the shockwave."

He was beginning to understand. If what she said was true, it was possible to knock out an entire regiment with one attack. But it would mean that his best men had all touched her at some point — since [Soul Link] was a melee ability — and it suggested that she had carefully picked out his toughest men and cast [Amplify Damage] on them all within this short period of time.

But, how...

How could she have predicted who would approach her…

How could she have known the strength of everyone in the room…

How could she have done it without anyone noticing...

At this level, it was pure luck — no— it was far beyond that. The fact that no one realized was nothing short of a _miracle_.

"I—I don't believe you ! You're lying !"

The Miracle Knight sighed, slightly annoyed by the man's determination to search for a reasonable answer.

"Believe what you want, I don't care… By the way — ' _negotiation can only take place between entities of equal power'_ , right ?"

Her eyes, her lips, and her spirit all smiled at him.

"Since I have proven that I am _stronger_ than all of you, does that mean I get the gold now ? Oh— and also the things you've stolen from me."

He didn't know how to feel. He was livid with rage at the woman's attitude, but his eyes were also wide open in terror as he crawled over the ground to get back up.

Yes — that smile — it was too genuine.

It was as if she had enjoyed shattering his dreams in the blink of an eye. Her emphasis on the word ' _stronger'_ proved it… For what other reason would she have to tease him like this. To prove to herself that she was powerful ?

Absurd.

Someone like her, who stood at the pinnacle of heroes, could not possibly think that she was weak. The Miracle Knight was making fun of him — there could be no other reason.

"A—As if I would let you ! You can go to hell with your demands ! You are far from having defeated all my men — this room was only a tiny part of our organization ! Soon, legions will come through the door, and you won't be able to repeat your cheap tricks."

That was partially correct, but he only wanted an answer from the girl. Perhaps he had expected a hint of surprise — or a moment of doubt — but she gave him nothing. Instead, she scowled at him with an annoyed face.

"Yeah… I know. I wanted to fight them too, but my friend refused. By now, he has probably taken on all of them by himself."

He was too shocked to say anything else. Part of him wanted to deny what she had just said, but part of him knew it could be possible. If she was the Miracle Knight from the story, nothing was impossible for her. But before he could refute anything, another one of his men who managed to stay conscious interrupted him.

" _*pant pant*_ I'm not done yet, you damn monster !"

It came from his loyal friend, the most powerful of his men, and a Mythril ranked knight. He was standing in visible pain by leaning on his unsheathed sword — and trying to put on a proud look in front of the woman. Standing tall, he took a single look at the unconscious body of his comrades — his face transforming to a contorted expression of pain.

"Y—You … ! * _pant*_ How can you dare to call yourself Miracle Knight ! Even in your dreams you could not compare to the might of that person. _*hun*_ I will face you, here and now — don't expect it to end before the patrols come back !"

The knight lifted his sword with a menacing swing and pointed it at the girl in a fighting stance. But it was easy to tell that simply standing upright had cost most of his energy… His eyelids were barely open and he swayed from side to side. A breeze would knock him out and send him to the land of dreams.

 _That's madness… He can't do it._

The leader followed the confrontation with hope and fear. He doubted the possibility of victory, but he also longed for the win. It was a matter of time before dozens of his men would cross the door and help him. If his ally could buy some time, he would have a chance to escape.

"I won't fight you."

The woman seemed to have respect for the knight's courage. He had taken considerable damage, as one of those who had the [Soul Link] on them, but he still stayed true to himself. That, in itself, was worthy of praise.

"It's already over…" she said with a voice carrying a hint of sadness

But her refusal only made him boil with anger.

"Don't screw around with me now ! _*pant*_ Once the others arrive, we can still settle things down with you !"

As soon as he finished his sentence, the room's door went flying before his eyes with a loud crackle and sent splinters flying through the air. Shielding their eyes from the debris flying towards them, the knight and his leader tried to make out the reason behind the exploding door — before opening their eyes wide in astonishment.

"Your friends won't come — I killed them all" a guttural voice resounded, followed by the sound of heavy steps.

A silhouette of a lizardman appeared covered in blood and holding a polearm. The leader recognized him from a single glance. He had seen him once in Hurdal — the demi-human city — when the head of the lizardman slavers had been executed. It was an old story, but everybody knew that this guy was like a mad dog — known for his unparalleled hatred of humans.

"S—Sabaoth from Thunderbird !" yelled the knight

The knight had taken the words right out of his mouth. If Sabaoth was here, there was no doubt that the woman wasn't lying about her name. She was smiling at him, and he returned the gesture with a tilt of his head. According to the stories about him, Sabaoth would not get along any human other than the Miracle Knight himself. For him, who had doubted the woman's words — it was all clear now. He shouldn't have made an enemy of her.

 _Why did it have to be us… What did I do wrong ?_

The knight was both shocked and terrified by what he had just learned. His determination had vanished in an instant, as his hands lost their grip on his sword, letting it fall to the floor. Desperate for an explanation, he stared at the girl with wide eyes and spoke with a weak voice.

"You—You weren't joking, you really are the Bringer of Storm. B— But how could you kill my subordinates with such cruelty. This is not what the stories say about you ! Y—You…"

He paused as a terrifying thought crossed his mind.

"...Could it be that you truly are the devil the people say ?"

His mind wasn't trying to find an answer anymore — he sprang on this idea, thinking he had found the truth.

"I trusted you ! I wanted to believe you were the victim of a misunderstanding — and went to associate myself with bandits to get the truth about it ! Mayor Clavo is even trying to ease things for you at this very moment. To think you would manipulate people this way… You're just a monster—"

The leader panicked as the name of Mayor Clavo popped into the conversation — and he stopped the knight from saying anything else.

"Shut up ! Do not say any single word about the organization !"

The lizardman took a step forward, with his face turning into a contorted expression of rage. It was like the warrior couldn't take any more nonsense being said about his friend, and he seemed to be willing to explain what secret hid behind this story.

"Do not get ahead of yourself, human."

After a click of his tongue, he looked down on the knight before lecturing him.

"You don't seem to understand anything at all… Mayor Clavo is the one behind everything, he's not trying to help anyone at all. Her treason is a made-up conspiracy, and everything that has been told about her is false. To ease your conscience, all the stories speaking of her heroism are true, far from being embellished, you can trust me on that."

His disgusted eyes looked down at the knight.

"But. First. She is not a human. And second. You are the one who picked a fight with her. You only have yourself to blame — don't cry when the storm is brought upon you afterward. The Miracle Knight will never let anyone walk over her. Weak or strong, she shows no mercy to any of them. Remember it for next time."

The knight fell backward, his eyes filling up with tears. His life had always been centered on the legendary figure, compelling him to follow in her steps, and he consecutively had to digest painful story about her. For the past month, his mind had constantly been torn between what he believed, and what the others had said about the Miracle Knight.

Hopefully, he had no doubt now. This was the truth.

His will to fight had utterly vanished, making him break down crying onto the ground. And, next to him, the bandit leader was just as shocked by the revelation as his subordinate.

That wasn't what he had been told.

Had he been manipulated from the beginning ? When would his _'friend'_ decide to betray him ?

"...W—What you just said about Mayor Clavo, is it the truth ? Does he really want you dead ?"

Sabaoth went to answer in Halona's place, as she was stepping in to talk to the knight.

"Yes. There's nothing more certain than Clavo scheming behind people's backs to get rid of them."

The man looked down at the ground with a pained face — clicking his tongue in frustration. He would never become a noble, everything had been a lie from the beginning. His dream was just an illusion that had served Mayor Clavo to manipulate him into doing his dirty work.

But what could he do now ?

He had been pushed to become an outlaw and didn't have any contacts except for the Mayor who had lied to him. And as If it wasn't enough, he had also made an enemy of one of the most powerful entities in the Alliance.

In other words — he was done for.

He couldn't win this time. His death was upon him, and his life had fallen apart. He wondered about all the things he could do if he survived. About what his men would think of him. After all, it was all the fault of this Mayor. Without him, it would have worked seamlessly. But, if he shared his knowledge with those guys, he would be able to indirectly take revenge against the man who manipulated him.

"I—If you spare me some time, I will tell you what I know."

A bit surprised, the lizardman responded with a gesture, indicating that he could go on.

"...Mayor Clavo is the one behind our organization — I discovered it by accident. He was sending us weapons, as a way to defend ourselves against the Devil Beetles, and, from time to time, instructions for us to follow. We sent him everything concerning the woman and the Magistrate's Quintus, and in turn he kept helping us."

He paused for a second, wondering if he should go on with his explanation.

"...She was under the protection of the city's most powerful authority, the Chancellor Cresta. From what our informant said, the Fifth City-State was willing to undertake a coup d'état by using the girl... Seems like she was protecting you from us, and not the other way around… b—but I promise it was never about killing anyone. All our informant ever told me is that he wanted to clear out the misunderstanding surrounding the Miracle Knight by having one of the survivors testify..."

Halona was listening with one ear — more annoyed than anything else, as she tried to comfort the knight — while the lizardman carefully soaked up every word of the man.

"Forgive me… I had no idea what was going on… I'm not even sure he knows who she really is. I am truly sorry" he finished.

The girl puffed loudly as she straightened up after talking to the knight. She had not retained anything the man had said — which made the lizardman answer in her place in an icy tone.

"It's not up to me to forgive you. She's the one who'll decide."

Halona looked back and forth between the Knight and the leader. It seemed like the answer was self-evident in her eyes, so she just went ahead and said it out loud.

"Hey— he apologized. If he just returns my stuff and gives me the gold, I will let him go."

A glimmer of hope appeared in the man's eyes. If that was all he had to do, he would gladly sacrifice his reserves and live to see the next day. Life didn't give you a second chance so often.

"S—Sure ! You can take all you want… But are you really going to let us live ?"

The Miracle Knight looked at the gaping hole left by the destroyed door with a pensive look. From his point of view, she was judging his worth in a moment of absence — but in truth she was wondering, if she could act the same way towards the undead of the Sorcerer Kingdom. The girl seemed to know what kind of danger awaited her past this door, and she knew that her clemency would only kill her if she kept having such thoughts of forgiveness.

But her decision wouldn't change — she would spare anyone who didn't have the will to fight anymore.

"Of course… But be quick about this. We need to go, my friend is expecting me. There is somewhere we must go."


	9. Chapter 2 Part 5

**[Fanfiction] Volume 14: The City-State Alliance**

* * *

 _A big thank you to **nobetteridea** for taking the time to read my sentences and proposing his edits. He's really enhancing the overall quality of these chapters by a mile !_

 **Chapter 2 — Decision**

 **Part 5**

His hands full of gold, a dead branch cracked under Sabaoth foot as he walked beside Halona. They were still in the forest. The Miracle Knight hummed a song — dancing on the leaves — while the lizardman walked in a straight line — as impassive as ever. I had been a while since his friend had started singing her weird melody, and he wondered what had caused such euphoria. Slowly, he turned to his friend, and asked her out of curiosity.

"What makes you so happy ?"

The girl kept humming her song while answering the question with a joyful mood.

" _*mhh hhm mhh*_ Nothing. I just thought my special skill was gone ever since I was killed by the dark elf — but that was temporary it seems. I am still strong, and ready to kick ass !"

The lizardman looked back on the road as he could see what she meant by 'special skill'.

"It was unnecessary to use it against those pieces of trash… You're a talent holder. It's not like you will ever lose the ability to use it."

Halona wasn't listening. She was so joyful about having recovered her full strength that she didn't care about anything else.

Last time she had tried to use her Talent was during the battle with Mirkah and it had been a complete void — as if she had dreamt of ever possessing such an ability. After a few headaches wondering about what could have happened, she had finally concluded that she lost all control over it and would never be able to use it again. It was the main reason for her lack of faith in her capacity to face the Sorcerer Kingdom, and what almost caused her to slide into depression at the idea of living differently.

But now that she knew her Talent wasn't gone, she was as lively as ever.

With it, she was sure to have all the tools to face the dark elf, and perhaps she would even be able to win a duel with her. Of course, it would be difficult, not to say impossible, but what was important is that she had a _chance._

Halona imagined bright scenes in her mind, thinking of all the victories she could achieve, and humming her strange melody in a joyful mood. She seemed to live in an entirely different world, toddling from left to right like a child who had found a new toy. It was then that she discerned the third member of her party appears at the corner of a tree.

" _*mhh m…* —_ Oh, Brokk ! Where were you ?! You missed the fun part."

The dwarf had a tired face. He seemed a bit afraid of the morose ambiance of the forest, but his eyes still carried determination within them. Curious by nature, Brokk did not resist the call of the unknown and the idea of exploring new horizons offered to his sight. He had the expression of someone who had the will to unveil the secret of these dark woods, but who was still terrified of what he might find there.

...although, exploring wasn't the only thing he had been doing all this time.

"Verifying something. I'm not a fighter. It's not like I would have been of any use going with you..."

Sabaoth knew about what it returned and asked him about the _verification_ he had mentioned.

"So — did anyone follow us ?"

Returning to his grim expression, the dwarf watched Halona with a look that carried a hint toward her implication in this investigation. She knew instantly that she made a mistake, and looked away trying to dodge the responsibility — as if she had a feeling about what Brokk would say next.

"...This is definitively the First Company."

The words cut through Halona's mood like a sharp knife. It could only be her fault if they were followed, so she could only wait for the end of Brokk's explanation with an expression of shame.

"As you predicted, they followed Halona's steps and tracked her down to the woods. They should be close by now, so we'd better be careful."

Even though she clearly knew she was guilty, Halona couldn't let it pass without speaking up, to lessen the massive blunder.

"...Y—Yo, it's okay. We can always fight them. Now that I recovered my full strength, you can count on me to kick their butts ! Imagine their faces when they will see what happened in the bandit's hideout."

Not willing to contradict the happy mood she had until mentioning her mistake, the dwarf resigned himself and turned to the lizardman for a report of what had happened in his absence.

"And so, did you learn something about these guys ? No trouble there, I hope ?"

"Not much. It was a smooth clean, and their leader revealed right away what he knew. But it is more complicated than we thought. Clavo was behind them. To me, it only means that their leader must have been manipulated from the beginning. We will get nothing out of it."

Brokk sighed as a lousy taste filled his mouth.

That man — Mayor Clavo — he was the beginning of it all. A cunning noble who had his nose everywhere at the same time, and whose goals always felt obscure to the absurd. Each time you thought having guessed something about him, it always ended up being a false trail or a trap.

From the very first day, he and Thunderbird had been enemies, suffering many encounters with the Mayor with Halona as the leader of their adventurer's group. But even after passing years of barely dodging the many attempts to get rid of them, Thunderbird still knew nothing of Clavo.

All they had accomplished, was becoming an obstacle to one of his many schemes and losing against him — again and again.

One time was when Halona tried to bring down demi-human slavery, another was when they wanted to reveal the truth about the tragedy of Biruhi, or even the time when they sought to make public the story behind the eradication of their favorite siblings' village. In the end, Clavo appeared as the central figure behind every one of those incidents, and had never allowed them to stand in his way. Their clashes always ended up with a situation that left behind a bad taste to the group — but which they could never avoid.

At the mention of the man, Brokk already felt as if he was puppetered by an invisible thread woven by this monster. An unpleasant feeling, one that made him feel like his actions weren't of his own accord.

"Brokk ? Are you alright ?"

He had probably let his thoughts take over for too long, and worried his friend with his moment of absence. The face of the lizardman made him feel a bit guilty. To apologize, he explained what he had been pondering.

"Oh — sorry. I was just thinking about Mayor Clavo... I won't hide that I'm terrified of him right now. If he was the bandit's _true_ leader, then everything they told you is probably a fake lead, and we're walking into an elaborate trap. It's probably no mere coincidence that the first company came here in the first place."

Sabaoth rested his chin in his palm as he reflected on the words of his friends. In this sort of situation they would usually follow the wise words of the Ancient — but, as they were talking, he was with the rest of Thunderbird in the fourth City-State. Someone had to take on his duty for now. A single glance toward Halona who was scratching her belly and yawning — and he knew they couldn't count on her for this. He had no choice but to rely on his own knowledge to decide on the course of actions to follow.

"Mhh. I will think about that. We would need the insight of the old man to get a working plan — but for now, we will get things done by ourselves."

The mention of the old man suddenly piqued the interest of Halona as she straightened up and leaned forward.

"Ah ! I forgot to ask ! Where is everyone else ? I understand that you two came to find me, but wouldn't everyone be part of the party ?"

Sabaoth studied the pros and cons of briefing Halona about the situation, and he finally decided to keep it a secret.

"They're waiting for us in Korte. We decided that a smaller group was better for the search, and that's why we traveled in a group of two. There's just Nine who went alone searching for you."

Halona's forehead puckered as she laughed in embarrassment. Nine was her best friend, and she had known her ever since she was born, but it frightened her a little bit to meet her again. She was helplessly drawn towards the idea that she did something terrible and couldn't help but feel that her friend would scold her for this. 'Nine' had the tendency to over-exaggerate everything that happened to Halona — and often went to unparalleled length to make sure everything was perfect in her surroundings.

"Ah — ah ah. I see…"

Wanting to quickly forget about this, Halona swiftly turned to Brokk and watched him with nervous eyes.

Dozen of thoughts popped up in her mind, with one in particular that she had forgotten until now. It was Brokk's presence that reminded her of it — _the wooden animal that the merchant had given her_. A smug smile appeared on her face. She took something from the bag of gold the bandit had given her and proudly presented it to him in excitement.

"By. The. Way. Brokk ! Look at what I got !"

The dwarf turned around to get a sight on what Halona was showcasing and looked at it with curiosity. At first sight, it seemed like a wooden toy like any others, but with a closer look, he managed to get a glimpse of what she was trying to show him.

"...Wow. Is it what I think it is ?! Can I take it for a second ?"

"I was sure you'd like it, eh eh. You can come get it."

Brokk took a step forward and grabbed the trinket with both hands. He was a craftsman, so he knew instantly that it was an incredible work of art. But what got him to be interested with every fiber of his body was the magic imbued in the trinket.

"I knew it — a second tier enchantment ! How is it possible ? Who gave it to you ?! I thought wood could not hold more than the first tier or it would break. You got to tell me, I need to see how it is done !"

He was almost bouncing on the spot as he held the trinket firmly in his hands, his overwhelming excitement making Halona feel a bit embarrassed.

"I _uhh_... It was a merchant who gave it to me. Keep it, if it's so great, it makes me happy."

"But can't you see how _amazing_ it is ! With this, I could develop new enchantments and create magical armor with third tier enchantments as if it were a breeze !"

This time it was Sabaoth who stopped the dwarf before he could go on with his rant.

"I don't want to interrupt anything, but it's time to get going. We are still close to the first company, remember ?"

Brokk calmed down a little bit, as he understood that his friend was right, and cautiously packed the wooden trinket in his humongous backpack. It was dangerous to remain in the same place for so long, his friend was right. Yet he couldn't help but complain that his hobby had to be interrupted so quickly.

"...That's a bit unfair, you know. I've seen you take a curious stare at that sword in your bag. You took it from the bandits, right ? I am sure you are dying to test it against an opponent just as much as I am to examine this trinket."

Sabaoth glanced at the dwarf sideways as he affirmed his pace.

"It's different. That one's cursed and would turn you into an undead in less time than it would take you to understand what's happening."

Brokk stepped backward as he stared at the sword. He didn't comprehend. The lizardman was the embodiment of cautiousness, which made it astonishing that he would take on the challenge of a cursed item and risk his life. It had to be quite the fantastic weapon.

"I—If it's so dangerous, then why are you carrying it ?…"

At the astonishment of the dwarf, Sabaoth unsheathed the sword with his right hand and started observing it. It didn't seem like he was struggling to repel the curse and even went to touch the sharpness of the blade with his other hand to show that he could easily resist it.

"That's not _really_ it. The leader told me it was Clavo who gave him the sword, and I don't think that his men missed the presence of the curse. Plus, after a closer look, most of the bandit had similar items without being affected. Do you get where I'm going with this ?"

"Uh… So Mayor Clavo is trying to raise a happy family of undead going on by what you said. But if you're asking me, surely _you_ must have a better idea ?"

Without any warning, Sabaoth turned himself toward the dwarf and immediately thrust the cursed sword past his head into the tree behind him. Brokk jumped three feet back from the sword, ready to fight back at this sudden aggression, before realizing that a Devil Beetle was impaled on the end of the sword.

Understanding that it was what his friend had been aiming for, and seeing a few dozens flying out of the neighboring trees, he lowered his guard and calmed himself — his eyes still twitching from the adrenaline caused by the sudden shock.

"—W—Warn me before doing that ! I almost hit you back, thinking you were that illusionist from the First Company !"

"Had no time, it was about to attack you. But now that it's done, observe."

Halona had stopped in silence and watched the two of them stare at each other in disbelief. From the worried look she gave him, Brokk decided that it wasn't worth it to start a fuss about how his friend's action could have been misinterpreted, or how he could have hurt him in defense, and instead refocused his attention on the beetle.

It had died in a split second, without any suffering.

The aquamarine blue liquid that dripped from the sword made no doubt that this one had just feasted on the mana of a poor creature — but that was about it. There was nothing else exceptional about the dead insect. A perfectly normal Devil Beetle, exceptionally dangerous, repulsing… and dead.

Confused about what his friend had tried to show him, Brokk turned to Sabaoth to get an explanation. The latter responded with a sign of his head as he held the blade firmly to keep the insect in place.

"Keep looking."

The dwarf turned his gaze on the dead beetle one more time without any high hopes of discovering anything new — then suddenly gasped.

"—It's really turning into an undead !"

Brokk observed in awe, as he witnessed the effect of the curse turn the monster into an undead within a few seconds. Giving it a thought, it should be impossible — no curse would be that fast to engrave its effect on a living being. Yet the proof lied right beneath his eyes.

The insect desperately tried to move from the sword as his unique eye had turned red, giving of the signature aura of the undead kind. It struggled with an aggressivity beyond reason, even for a non-living thing, and started ripping itself into half to free itself from the sword. The madness taking over it became clearer with every second.

To stop its advance, Sabaoth swiftly sliced the Devil Beetle in half with an iron dagger and freed it from the cursed sword — with its remains falling lifelessly to the ground.

Without an ounce of emotion on his face, he quickly packed away the two weapons after cleaning them of the blue liquid and turned to Brokk once again, whose shoulders were hunched from the frightening spectacle.

"I don't know what you make of it, but to me it's clear: it's an experiment to see how efficient it would be to turn the City-States into an undead country. Clavo must have betrayed the Alliance to work for the Sorcerer Kingdom."

Brokk panicked as he acknowledged the lizardman's theory as if there could be no other reason to justify the presence of this cursed sword in the hand of these bandits.

It was a reasonable theory — terrifying to consider — but realistic.

When he was alone, Mayor Clavo was already a man dangerous enough to be taken most seriously by every neighboring country as a noble of exceptional ingenuity and resourcefulness. To think that he would join forces with the Sorcerer Kingdom. It was pure madness. The Alliance in its entirety would have enough trouble dealing with him alone if he turned against the City-States…

"Im—Impossible… Y—You mean like this princess in the Re-Estize Kingdom, who joined the undead ? But, if it's true, the citizens could all be turned into undead without the Sorcerer King doing anything ! They just have to hand out those swords to the people."

"...It's just a hypothesis. Only time will tell us if I was right."

Brokk hands trembled from the fear of this potential future. They had never won against Clavo, but would they be able to beat him this time around ? If they fought the way they did during the previous encounters, their chance of victory was slim. Worse — their advantage of power was annihilated, if Clavo could make use the Death Knight lent by the Sorcerer Kingdom. They would definitely lose if they had to fight him.

Their only chance of victory would be to count on Halona's intuition and occasional ingenuity.

His gaze turned to her with the hope of seeing the usual determination and enthusiastic mood in her eyes. But, along with the fact she had not talked for a while, Halona seemed surprised.

Brokk blinked in confusion. If _she_ , who always knew what to do in any situation and always looked ahead, was shocked — what hope remained ?

"…Guys. I wasn't sure in the beginning, but the magic I had cast on the bandits just disappeared."

Even though the tension fell, now that they realized her surprise came from something else entirely, Brokk didn't know if he should be relieved or afraid of her affirmation. Before he could have the time to ponder anything further, Sabaoth already took the lead.

"The First Company... they are faster than we thought. We should go."

It was no use to think of what would happen from now on… As per usual, they would follow Halona, and everything would play out just fine.

Brokk let out a sigh of exhaustion before replying weakly.

"...Yeah. Let's quickly get to Troya."


	10. Chapter 2 Part 6

**[Fanfiction] Volume 14: The City-State Alliance**

* * *

 _As always, thank you **nobetteridea** for reviewing the chapter. I know I'm slow as fuck to write them, but you keep helping me, even at my rhythm. For this you deserve my praise._

 **Chapter 2 — Decision**

 **Part 6**

Thunderbird entered a towering building that overlooked the city of Troya.

Brokk and Sabaoth had put on their green hoods to make sure that no one recognized them. Truth is that lizardmen and dwarves were rare sights in the City-States, and if someone saw a representative of one of these peculiar races, they would quickly establish the link with Sabaoth and Brokk of Thunderbird. That was without saying that they wanted to avoid such disconvenience. To avoid an unfortunate outcome, their adamantite plaques had been tucked into their pockets, and their weapons carefully hidden inside their clothing.

When they had arrived in Troya, their first stop had been at Waldonus house.

They wanted to meet him and give him the gold stolen from the bandits — but they didn't find him here. Nothing too weird, considering that it had been more than six hours that Halona had left him in front of his ruined home. It was only natural that, at some point, he would go on with his day and do something different. He had left drawings behind, for when Halona would come back, to explain where he held the meeting with Momon.

This place was the meeting point — none other than this city's Adventurer Guild.

As they crossed the doorstep, Sabaoth looked for the slightest hint of an enemy. He was even more cautious than usual. In the city and its surroundings, they were criminals whose capture was highly rewarded. If a single one of these people recognized them, they would have to fight against the First Company who followed them or — even worse — against the Death Knights posted at the exit. To avoid this outcome, he had to consider the whole world as an enemy and look for any out of the ordinary behaviour that would indicate their cover being blown.

— Still, this building was quite reassuring to him.

Since the Adventurer Guilds operated throughout the nations, it was different than the other organizations of the City-States, in the fact that they had an unofficial rule saying the guild would never take part in inter-human conflicts. If not, they wouldn't be able to cooperate with each other in different countries. If this didn't change, they should have no reason to denounce the members of Thunderbird. Moreover, the existence of adamantite adventurers was necessary for the morale of the people and stability of the guild. As such, Thunderbird still had an important role in the Guild's affairs as they were the unique Adamantite party in the City-States. Most of the officials would mostly be friendly with Sabaoth and Brokk, unless they had a good reason to act otherwise.

The lizardman only hoped that it would be the case here...

"Let's get a seat at a table and wait for your friend. Halona, you are forbidden from doing anything other than stare at your surroundings, ok ?"

She turned back at him with a look that clearly implied that she was shocked by his words.

"Come on ! I understand the situation, I won't do anything stupid."

"It's not about that. I know what you want to do, and it's a firm _no_."

Sabaoth knew her by heart. Halona's attention was helplessly drawn to the counter, and it was clear that she wanted to sign up her name to officially become an adventurer again. Like hell would he let her do such a stupid thing… Pulling her into a chair, he heard her grumbling and ignored it along with her wound up glares.

In his turn, he sat and patiently waited.

Brokk immediately took the wooden trinket Halona gave to him earlier and started studying it like his precious ring. In a fraction of second, his attention had fully shifted to his examination of the peculiar object, and he would not be able to sense the slightest clue of tension in the room. So quick to go from an anguished dwarf to a dispersed kid with his new toy…

A lost cause.

Instead, Sabaoth would have to be on guard by himself.

A quick glance told him a lot about the other people present in the room. Apart from the receptionists, the various clients of the Guilds or the simple visitors, there were many adventurers, ranging from copper to platinum rank. None of them represented a threat, since it would at least take an Orichalcum class to be able to keep up with him alone, but he was still cautious about a poisoned dagger or a magic scroll hidden in a pocket. They may be the strongest Adventurer group in the City-States, but it would only take a stupid mistake to get killed.

Talking about mistakes, he thought about the dangers awaiting them in the near future.

If they were going to the Sorcerer Kingdom, they would probably have to fight a monster stronger than them sooner or later. Considering such an inevitable outcome, he thought of preparing himself for the eventuality and getting every advantage on his side to hope for the win.

First, he needed information.

After making sure that no one was listening in on their conversation, he watched Halona straight and questioned her.

"I have a question, Halona. I know you've had an encounter with the Sorcerer Kingdom. Can you tell us their difficulty level ?"

Among adventurers, there were many who spoke about the difficulty level given to monsters or quests. The higher the level a group became, the more difficult the quest available to them were. Of course, there was an unspoken rule among adventurers that one should never judge an opponent by merely their difficulty, but this system was created so that people wouldn't lose their lives recklessly attempting to do dangerous missions beyond their ability.

For example, while an Orichalcum adventurer had an estimated level of 80, Thunderbird could take on missions with difficulty up to 180 — which was supposedly their limit.

It was an astounding number to even think of, going as far as being able to fight in the realm of the Evil Gods. This incredible strength was widely recognized in the City-States, and mainly came from the two pillars of the group — Halona and the Rhapsodist Goddess. Given their current power, and since Halona had an excellent ability to judge her opponents, it would give him a good idea of their chances against a critical encounter in the Sorcerer Kingdom.

"Mhh— I'm not really sure... but for the dark elf I talked about, I would say well above 350. There was also an insect that would come across 400 and a giant rock whose power was in-between. It could be even higher, but they're far over the limit of power one can attain in this world — of that I'm sure."

His heart throbbed loudly as his respiration stopped. Sabaoth froze and stared at Halona's eyes with an expression of shock. He couldn't believe what she just said. Thanks to the gods that Brokk was so absorbed by the trinket and wasn't listening to this, else he would have a heart attack right now.

— Did she just say that to extrapolate ?

No, she wasn't the type who would do such things, and he trusted her ability to judge her opponents. But how could she stay so calm in the face of having enemies whose strength could shatter the world ? He wasn't even sure that he could comprehend the power of such monsters, let alone imagine fighting against them. If he had been given the title of Sabaoth the imperturbable, he had lost it for this one moment.

"A—Are you kidding me ?"

Halona looked back at him with eyes carrying a determination that did not lie — she was most serious about it.

"Not the slightest... but don't worry, I'm sure we can win ! No matter how frightening it is. A victory against such beings would be a commendable feat that people would talk about for millenia ! Doesn't it excite you ?"

Commendable was a weak word to express how much of a feat it would be. Did she really believe it was possible to win ? Probably — knowing her temper… After all, one could only know after trying. However, she was right — he was excited about it. His warrior blood was boiling, just thinking of having the chance to see such an incredible opponent. It wasn't every day that he could find someone stronger than himself in this small world. This alone woke up the flame of the warrior deep within his heart.

Frightening, uncertain, out of reach — everything he asked an adventure to be.

He longed for the day he would be able to face the monsters of the Sorcerer Kingdom on a fight equal to equal.

"You really found us something to devote our lives to, Halona. I will be looking forward to it — and maybe find a death without shame."

The mention of death caught Brokk's attention as he deposited his glasses on the table to get involved in the conservation.

"Mhh ? What are you talking about ?"

Before Halona could explain, Sabaoth began laughing heartedly. The dwarf wasn't as suicidal as himself, so he would probably get terrified if he knew their conversation.

"Ku — kukuku. It's better, if you don't know — you wouldn't like it."

Brokk felt a bit left out as Halona began laughing too. He observed the two of them with an embarrassed expression and grumbled down into his toy.

"Humpfh.. If it's like it, I might as well unveil the secret of this precious."

With their laughs dying out, an unknown voice started rising in the room.

His heart stopped. The tension built up in an instant, and Sabaoth instantly turned toward the new presence with his hands on his weapons. This moment of distraction could cost of him a lot — and he knew it. If this was an enemy, he had the element of surprise.

"There are heretics among us, who are spreading distasteful rumors. I feel the need to purge this foul slandering of the Sorcerer King !"

Sabaoth let out a sigh of relief as his hands released the handle of his war-axe.

It was another one of _those guys_.

Slowly turning back to his seat, he peeked at the reactions of his friends, and saw that Halona had a completely different attitude than himself — she was totally inquisitive towards the man's words.

"—What is this ?"

Knowing how dangerous she could be when she was curious about something, Sabaoth quickly intervened to explain what it was about.

"Don't pay attention. It's one of the priests of that new cult. They worship the Sorcerer King like a deity, and preach that the undead are a superior race."

"Ohhh—"

Instead of provoking disgust, it piqued Halona's curiosity even further, as she now carefully listened to the man's speech.

"We are but maggots, writhing in the filth of our own corruption ! While our Lord and Savior, Ainz Ooal Gown, is the true god of man !

Cruel, yet gentle. Mighty and unerring. To you, we must give our devotion ! And deserve our praise you do, for our Savior you will be !

Ere you ascended and the Six Great Gods became One, you walked among us, magnificent, not as a god, but as a man ! Now — you rule the realm of Gods, and you reshape this land of yours to bring peace and prosperity.

Aye ! For this very idea is inconceivable for the Council of the Mayors who rules from above ! Sharing the same earth as we do ? With mere citizens ? Ha ! They can barely tolerate our presence on earth !

But for Ainz Ooal Gown who brought down the heaven, we are the children of the gods ! We are equal, and deserve the best in our lives !

Embrace the words of the Sorcerer King, and this soil _will_ become a paradise we will rule — forever ! You may fear the cultural differences it will usher, and attempt to fight and deny the change, but is a future of unity and coexistence not worth the risk ?"

Sabaoth lost interest in the meaningless speech.

The City-States counted more and more of these fanatics with every day counting that it became harassing to hear them re-hash some old baloney everywhere they went.

If you thought further, that whole religion-thingy could be a strategy to convert the Alliance and make them join forces with the Sorcerer Kingdom — or perhaps just another cult of the leader set up by their opponents. But, in any case, no one with a sense of intelligence could be dumb enough to swallow this nonsense.

"So cool ! Hey Sabaoth — the Sorcerer King seems like a good person ! This guy says he had been chosen to spread his words."

"..."

With an exasperated sigh, Sabaoth facepalmed. He did not expect Halona to be so fascinated by the man's words that she would forget who the fanatic was talking about.

"...If you follow this guy, you will become a subordinate and work in his cult. That means you will wear the same clothes as he does, and preach the good words of the Sorcerer King all day."

Suddenly turning to watch deep into her friend's eyes, Halona made a look of disgust before sitting back on the chair.

"Bweeeh ! He almost had me going, that bastard."

Sabaoth didn't make a comment about it. All he could think was this question he had asked himself a thousand times :

 _How could someone like Halona be so smart and stupid at the same time ?_

Sometimes he wondered how she had survived for so long with that mindset of hers. She knew things that people would never imagine, even in their wildest dreams, and could use every single detail to her advantage — but at the same time, she didn't have a single ounce of discernment, judgment, or discretion. When someone tried to trick her, she would fall right into the trap, and did not even understand that people could have multiple faces they would hide.

Hopefully, Halona would always have someone to stop her before she made an unfortunate decision...

"—Excuse me. Can I help you ? It's been a moment since you sat at this table."

Oh — right. He forgot to warn the guild's receptionists about their intentions.

This one was a beautiful lady with an elegant nose and a face that looked willing to help with all her soul. She had a pen and a piece of paper in her hand as if she was about to take their order. After all the good-will she had shown them, it would be rude not to explain what it was about.

"We're waiting for someone, he should —"

"Me ! Can I sign up as an adventurer ?" Halona interrupted them.

 _That damned girl..._ It was precisely what he had tried to avoid at all cost. She would always make a point to do the exact same thing regular people would do, which meant she wouldn't consider herself an adventurer until she had gained entry into the Adventurer's Guild once more. It was exactly the kind of problems she was fond of getting into, and Sabaoth wanted to avoid.

What use was it to warn her beforehand — she never learnt…

Quickly taking a glance at his friend, he found that Brokk had also stopped focusing on the wooden trinket and seemed as panicked as himself.

"To become an adventurer, you need to pass a literacy test and pay the entry fee which is 5 silver coins. Is that alright with you ?" the girl replied, pushing aside her paper with a radiant smile.

"Err— could I just pay the fee ? I was already an adventurer before, but I had to stop after a while."

The woman seemed surprised by the declaration Halona had just made. One does not simply resign from an adventurer status and come back later. Usually, you would just keep the plaque in a corner of your home and tell the guild to cross your name off the list. After that, if ever the time came to take back the job of an adventurer, the guild would just rewrite your name on the register with the same fee as the entrance.

"Just show me your plaque then, and I will register you."

Halona made a quick head movement toward her friends who were clearly implying that, in no way, she should show her adamantite plaque to the receptionist. This time, Brokk decided to take the lead and prevent a disaster.

"It's a bit complicated. She doesn't have her plaque and wants to have a fresh start from Copper. Could you grant us this selfish demand, please ?"

They were starting to overtax the receptionist, who now looked panicked. She had no idea how to handle the situation with just her own experience, but also did not want to displease anyone.

"I—I'm sorry, but the rules are the rules. I can not register her as a _new_ adventurer if she already has a plaque. Plus the literacy test is mandatory ! Ah—"

As she desperately turned in an attempt to flee and seek help, the woman bumped into a dark armor that stopped her advance instantly. Before she could fall, the figure quickly caught her and put her back in place.

"Here— be careful."

"... _uhh._ "

The woman stood up and deeply bowed as she realized what happened.

"S—Sorry ! P—Please accept my apologies ! Ahh— d—did you come to ask me a question ?"

The dark armor turned to Halona and thought for itself in a moment of silence. After a few seconds, it looked back at the receptionist and made its declaration.

"Umu… I appear to have overheard your conversation. Could you make an exception for her ? I will take responsibility if there are any problems."

As shocked as she could be, the guild's receptionist took a quick glimpse at the dark armor. She was judging the man standing before her. Who could he be for making such a claim, and taking such a responsibility ?

Quickly, her eyes opened wide as she recognized the object around his neck.

As if she had been struck by lightning, her mind suddenly changed and she stammered words of apology.

"A—Ahh s… sorry, my Lord ! It's as if it was done !"

As swift as the wind, she asked Halona for her name and disappeared behind the counter to seek the register. It stirred the curiosity of the group and — while Sabaoth and Brokk seemed to have understood the reason for the change in the receptionist's mind — Halona stayed clueless.

Her curiosity took over after a moment of silence, and she went to ask the dark adventurer.

"Err— Thank you for the help, sir. You saved me. To be honest, I couldn't take the literacy test… but you seem to be quite a respected person. Can I ask who you are ?"

The adamantite plaque around the man's neck gleamed as he turned to Halona.

Taking a closer look, she could now see the red eyes glowing through the helmet, and soon, his low-pitched voice echoed through the room.

Yes — there could only be one man with such notoriety who wore an armor of an obsidian black.

"I am Momon, from Darkness."


End file.
